


Please

by LevySutcliffe



Category: EraserMight - Fandom, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Fingering, Angst, Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flirting, Fluff, Handcuffs, Happy Ending, Kinky Toshi, Kissing, Light Bondage, M/M, Mob Boss Yagi, Rescue Missions, Rimming, Spanking, Surprises, Ticklish Aizawa, barista aizawa, eventual erasermight, handjob, hospital stays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2019-11-05 20:36:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 53,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17925911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LevySutcliffe/pseuds/LevySutcliffe
Summary: Everything went wrong. Absolutely anything that could go wrong, did. Now Shouta Aizawa had to deal with the fact that all of the people he ever cared about, were dead. But when a handsome stranger offers assistance and a second chance, Shouta has to choose just how far his revenge game goes and what he is willing to sacrifice to achieve it.





	1. Life, Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where the idea for this story came from, and I'm not sure how it's going to end...so please bear with me.

Shouta Aizawa silently perched on a rooftop overlooking his childhood home, dark eyes squinting against the rising sun, finally giving in to the glare and pulled on his specialized eye protection. The time to finally take a big chunk of supplies from the biggest Boss in town was almost upon them. Shouta sat back on his heels, thinking about how the heist was supposed to happen.

Shouta worked for a man that he had never met before. As a teenager, he had gotten into some trouble with the law for stealing and smuggling, and this certain man got him out of a bad predicament. But by getting him out of trouble, he required Shouta to work for him instead, offering protection for his little street, as long as they got this man whatever he wanted. He didn’t know the man’s name; he just knew of his right-hand man, the one who brought the orders; no one knew his real name, they just called him Hands. No one really knew why, but the name stuck. So, taking him up on his offer, Shouta recruited his best friend, the two of them running quite a few successful heists together.   
The heist today was simple: steal a truckload of guns from the biggest mob boss in town. There was to be no protection around it, no guards or armed caravans. Hands would redirect the truck to the street where Shouta would be waiting to lift the cargo. From there, he would hide the guns in one of the shops and smuggle them to the leader, slowly as to not be obvious about it, in case someone was looking for them. Shouta went over the plan again in his head, finally satisfied that everything would fall into place.

A chuckle beside him announced the arrival of his best friend, Hizashi Yamada, and he sat down at the edge of the roof, long legs dangling dangerously out over the street several stories below. Shouta glanced over at him through long tangled black hair; Hizashi was the coolest guy on the street, long blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail, reflective aviator glasses pulled over his eyes, and his ever-present headphones pulled off his ears to loop around his neck. He grinned at the raven-haired gangly man, snapping his bubble gum, and fingering the repelling gear he had looped around his waist.

“‘Sup Mic.” Shouta said quietly, using the name Hizashi went by on the streets.

“It’s gonna all work out Eraser.” He said quietly, using the nickname Shouta had earned back in his younger days. “We’ve been working for this moment for most of our adult lives.” He put a steady hand on Shouta’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “And don’t worry about the kids. They’ll be safe.”

The ‘kids’ that Hizashi was referring to was the younger generation from the same street that Shouta grew up on. They always wanted to follow in the two men’s steps, always trying their best to grow up too fast. Shouta took a lot of time to make sure they went to school and stayed out of trouble; he felt like a hypocrite for doing what he did to keep his friends and neighbors safe, yet telling these kids to grow up and be successful by doing the right thing. This Saturday morning, a few of the older kids were standing around outside throwing a basketball around, bouncing it gently enough so a sweet, tiny thing with the biggest brown eyes and the sweetest smile could play too. Ochako was only six, but she liked playing with the big boys, and all the bigger kids watched out for her. Shouta grinned at the memory of her clasping his neck with her chubby little arms and giving him a big wet kiss on his scratchy cheek; yeah, Hizashi was right, the kids would be fine.

The sound of a truck’s brakes sounded out in the early morning air and the two men looked at each other, silently nodding. The kids stopped playing, looking back the approaching truck, and scattered back inside. It was time.

Turning their backs to the edge of the roof, they both locked their repelling ropes into their harnesses and began to scale down the side of the building, hearing the tractor trailer screeching to a stop just below them. Shouta unhooked himself, landing softly on the top of the rig, and ran towards the back doors, peering back at Hizashi who had yanked the driver out of the front seat, and pressed a small revolver to the back of his head. The driver raised his hands over his head in surrender, and Hizashi pulled him to his feet, pushing him back towards the truck. Shouta whistled, the signal to unlock the back of the rig.

A sharp whistle sounded from the front and then he heard the locks release. Shouta looked over at Hizashi, who had come from the front and grinned, both jumping at the same time and grabbing the door handles. Mic let out a howl of pleasure, putting a gentle smile on Shouta’s face, and they pulled the doors open, swinging away from the opening.

A loud barrage of gunfire sounded from inside the truck; Shouta started, and immediately looked around the door, only to see a swarm of men in what appeared to be Kevlar vests storm out of the truck, bullets flying everywhere. Shouta stared, wide eyed in shock as the windows of the houses and shops along the street shattered, a few screams echoing from nearby, guns blazing, shouting and the sound of fights breaking out ringing in his ears.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his and yanked him away from the scene. Hizashi dragged a stunned Shouta towards the one escape route they had planned: down the back alley that led into the business district. But they couldn’t get there; a group of the men from the truck had appeared, dragging a couple of the older boys from the house they lived in, their mother following in tears. Shouta’s eyes grew wide as little Ochako followed her mother out of the house, her big brown eyes growing at the sight of the guns and her big brothers on their knees in front of them. Shouta moved to protect them, but he wasn’t fast enough. The men lowered their guns, meaning to shoot the two teenagers; out of nowhere, Ochako jumped in front of them, guns going off at the same time, bullets ripping through her tiny body as she collapsed in a puddle of crimson.  
Shouta screamed and pulled out a pocket pistol, at the same time Hizashi aimed his revolver and both men shot simultaneously, the bullets tearing through the men’s skulls. As they fell away, Shouta raced forward, pushing the sobbing family back inside to safety, kneeling down and cradling the tiny angel in his arms. Her wide eyes stared straight ahead, sightless, her little mouth turned up in a tiny smile. Shouta choked back a sob as he carefully laid her on the sidewalk, leaning over her to gently close her eyes. Hizashi tore off his white jacket, ever so gently laying it over the tiny form.

Loud voices and gunfire came around the truck, and the two men leaped to their feet, dashing away down the long, dark alley, their breaths coming in short bursts, Shouta glancing behind him at their pursuers. One of them paused long enough to aim a long rifle at Shouta’s quickly retreating figure, and the two friends quickly switched places, zig-zagging every time they took a step, making them harder targets to hit. Shouta was distraught, his tears blinding him; the plan had gone horribly wrong, the little angel that kept everyone happy and peaceful had been brutally murdered right in front of him, and nothing to show for her sacrifice.

A gunshot rang out behind him and Shouta jumped, feet angling off the wall, launching him a few feet into the air, narrowly avoiding the bullet that whizzed by his head, shaving off the end of a few of his long dark locks. Another shot rang out and Shouta glanced beside him at Hizashi, just in time to see a streak of red, rocket out of his chest. The impact stunned Mic as he grabbed his bleeding chest and stopped dead in his tracks; Shouta saw it all as though it were in slow motion. He quickly turned to help his best friend, but another shot rang out, the bullet grazing Shouta’s shoulder, tearing his sweatshirt. Hizashi was kneeling on the ground now, breath coming in weak rasps; he looked up at Shouta, his glasses shattered at his feet, light emerald eyes pleading. He clutched his chest and shuddered, tears welling up in his eyes; he looked up at Shouta again, and whispered, with his last breath, “Run Shouta.” Then his eyes went blank, and he fell forward, his white tee shirt soaking up the scarlet puddle.

Shouta stood frozen, staring at his friend, willing him with every ounce of strength he had, to move, to get up and run with him again. But Hizashi lay still, not to move again, his long blonde hair falling into his face, covering his eyes from Shouta’s view.

Shouts and another gunshot pulled Shouta from his daze; with one last look at his fallen friend, Shouta turned and ran. No longer caring whether he died or not, he ran straight, bursting out of the alley into bright daylight, and making a mad dash through the early morning crowds, earning him several shocked looks as he ran by, praying that the killers wouldn’t follow him here. The wail of sirens echoed in his ears, but Shouta just kept running, never looking back. He ran on and on, only coming to a stop when he reached water; completely exhausted, he sank to his knees, tears flowing freely as everything that had happened finally sank in. His home was gone, his best friend in the world and the only person he could truly rely on was no more. He fell forward, his palms catching him at the last second, as he furiously beat his knuckles against the pavement, cursing himself for even thinking this was a good idea.

Slowly, as the sun began to set, Shouta started to calm down, his bloodshot eyes drying, his rage dwindling to a small flame in the pit of his stomach. His bloody and bruised knuckles served as a painful reminder of his fury; right then and there, as the sun set, Shouta Aizawa made a vow, that he would be the one to take the life of the person responsible for killing his friends. He knew the only person it could possibly be was the mob boss whom he had just tried to steal from. He racked his brain, trying to remember the man’s name, but his mind came up empty, only remembering that the truck’s logo read “Plus Ultra”. Not much of anything to go on, but it was at least a start.

A small sound behind him had Shouta whirling around, yanking his pistol out of his pocket in one swift motion. But he never got the chance to fire; a hulking figure of a man stood directly behind him, easily grabbing his gun, which startled Shouta for a second, giving him a glance of his attacker. The man who held his gun was tall and muscular, mocha skinned with a strange black and white tattoo covering his bald head. Then, without warning, a loud crack sounded at the base of his skull and Shouta slumped forward, unconscious.

A horrible headache brought him out of his blackout. Shouta groaned and opened his eyes to see…nothing; a black cloth had been draped over his head, obscuring his vision. Panic seized him and he tried to lift the hood, only to realize his arms were tied behind him, securing him tightly to the seat he was trapped in. He struggled in his bonds, mentally screaming for help, when a deep voice sounded from beside him.

“I wouldn’t try to escape if I were you. You’ll only hurt yourself.” Shouta turned his head toward the voice, still wriggling, the rough rope eating into the flesh of his forearms.  
“Are you the one who took my gun?” Shouta asked quietly, the feeling of dread slowly swallowing him.

“I am. And no, you can’t have it back.” The voice vibrated so deep, Shouta felt it in his very core. Then he stilled as the voice spoke, softer than before, “I’m sorry about this.”

“Why are you sorry, Orca? He did this to himself.” A sultry feminine voice piped up from somewhere in front of him and Shouta jerked his head in her direction. The woman obviously oversaw this operation, since the deep rumbling voice didn’t speak again and Shouta felt the seat beside him move, as though someone large had sank deeper into the cushions.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this?” Shouta asked quietly, hoping for an honest response, but none came. Suddenly, he felt a jerking motion, and a sudden stop of movement.  
“We’re here. Orca, Jean, carry him in.” The woman’s voice rang out; it didn’t sound harsh, just throaty and commanding. Shouta felt two strong arms lifting him out of what must have been an SUV, settling him gently on the ground and he heard a door slam behind him. The one that the woman called ‘Orca’, obviously took hold of Shouta’s left arm, while a much smaller pair of hands took his right. Not knowing what was happening, Shouta struggled against them, drawing curses from the smaller man. Suddenly, something hard and round poked into his chest.

“Keep struggling if you want me to use this. Please, I beg you, keep it up.” The sultry voice was back, this time low and threatening and directly in front of his face, taunting him; sensing that it was useless to resist, Shouta stopped his frantic wriggling, allowing the men to half drag, half carry him wherever they were going.

Shouta could tell they had stepped into a building, since he no longer felt the breeze blowing through the hole in his sweatshirt sleeve. The group moved quickly through the building, only pausing once to open a door; Shouta was shoved inside a chilly room, and Orca forced him to his knees. The panic in his head clamored for attention, but he forced it into silence; facing the unknown, Shouta kept his head hung low. The hood was roughly yanked from his head and, as his long hair settled on his shoulders, he spotted a fine pair of well-toned legs encased in a pair of dark blue suit pants, crossed comfortably at the knees, sitting directly in front of him just a couple feet away. Shouta never raised his eyes, not even when the man in front of him stood up, walked two steps until his bright red leather shoes were inches from Shouta’s face; not even when the cool barrel of the gun firmly planted itself on the top of his head did his eyes leave the perfect legs directly before him.

“Why did you try to steal from me, kid?” A low, deep voice rumbled over his head, and Shouta flinched. This man. This was the man he had vowed to kill. Whoever he was, whatever he looked like, Shouta swore to himself that he would kill this man. The gun moved from his head, slowly before his eyes, and was firmly placed under his chin, the pressure forcing his eyes up, and into the bluest pair of eyes he had ever seen. The giant of a man who stood over him, crouched down to his level, settling back on his heels, boring his icy blue irises into the very depths of Shouta’s soul. A wild mass of blonde hair wisped around his handsome face and he slowly grinned, eyes narrowing at Shouta’s unresponsiveness.

“I believe I asked you a question. You now need to answer.” The man growled deeply. Shouta didn’t respond, too many thoughts running through his head; but the only recurring thought he had was how he didn’t deserve to live. This man held his life in his hands, and he would probably kill him anyway; despair and hopelessness overwhelmed him, as his thoughts went back to Hizashi and Ochako. If he died now, he could be reunited with them, and maybe they would forgive him in the next life for abandoning them. Shouta decided then and there, he was finished; he didn’t want to live any longer with the overwhelming guilt. Staring directly into the eyes of the man who would be the death of him, Shouta pushed his chin deeper into the barrel of the gun; the older man’s eyes widened, and he jerked back slightly.

“Kill me.” Shouta growled, his eyes never leaving his captor’s. The blue eyes wavered, a look of confusion crossing his face.

“Why would you want to die?” Uncertainty laced the man’s voice, the gun slowly pulling away. Shouta stared unblinking at him, rage and hopelessness mixing together in the pit of his stomach.

“I don’t deserve to live. I killed the one’s I cared for the most.” Shouta finally dropped his eyes, staring at the hard, cold floor. “Just end it. Quickly.” His eyes shot up to the hesitant blue ones, one last time.

“Please.”

The barrel of the gun was pressed in between his eyes, the safety clicked off, finger set on the trigger. Shouta’s eyes bored deep into the man’s blue eyes, willing him to pull the trigger. He just wanted put out of his misery. The two men stared at each other for what seemed like forever, until his captor sighed and dropped his hand holding the gun.

“No.”

Shouta started, not expecting to hear that answer; his words caught in his throat as his eyes dropped back to the floor.

“Why not?” The man shrugged, putting the safety on and handing the gun to the man called Orca.

“I don’t take lives willingly, nor do I give in to a suicide request.” He knelt back down to Shouta’s level, long slender fingers curling under his chin, forcing his eyes back up. “There’s still so much you are capable of. It would be a waste to kill you.” Shouta bristled at the gentleness in his voice, ripping his eyes away from the man in front of him. The man sighed and stood up, turning his back to Shouta, walking away towards a door on the far side of the room. As he reached it, he paused, looking back over his shoulder.

“I wasn’t the one who killed your friend. I don’t know who did, but I never ordered his death. I don’t work that way. I don’t kill for the fun of it. My shipment reached its destination without an issue.” Shouta’s eyes shot up to the man’s back, words catching in his throat. He didn’t kill Hizashi and little Ochako? He was suddenly at a complete loss, having no idea where to go or who to turn to. He looked at the man’s strong back and broad shoulders, an idea popping into his head.

“Please help me find who did.” Shouta lowered his head respectfully, still not certain of what it was that he was doing anymore. “I’ll do anything.” That got the man’s attention and he turned back to Shouta, crossing his arms in front of his rippling chest.

“Really. You’ll do anything?” Shouta nodded, chest tightening, hoping he had made the right choice. The man stood directly in front of Shouta, towering over him, icy eyes blazing. “And how do you know you can trust me?” Shouta stared up at him, thinking over his answer.

“You didn’t kill me. And, somehow, I believe you didn’t kill my friends.” His breath caught as the blue eyes widened. “I have to believe in something, and I can’t do this on my own.” Shouta sucked in a breath, and forced himself forward into a low bow, his forehead making contact with the floor with a thud. “Please help me Sir.”

A loud laugh boomed above him and he winced as his shoulders were hoisted off the floor, a wide smile adorning the man’s face.

“Of course, I’ll help. Someone impersonated me, and that’s going to give me a bad name. Midnight! Cut the poor boy free if you don’t mind.” The man waved the woman over and Shouta finally got a decent look at her: she was tall for a woman, long dark hair falling over her graceful shoulders and into her light blue eyes. She wore all white, tight fitting clothing, and had a whip hanging at her side. She produced a small knife from somewhere in her clothing and deftly cut Shouta loose, eyeing him warily. Nodding his thanks, Shouta rubbed feeling back into his raw arms, then turned back to the man in front of him.

“What’s your name, kid?” the deep voice rumbled again, this time friendlier than it had been.

“The gang called me Eraser. I’m not telling you my real name.” Shouta said quietly, drawing another chuckle from him.

“Testy are we Eraser?” Shouta flinched as a large hand clapped his shoulder, turning to see the hooded eyes narrowing slightly. He shrugged, gently running a hand over his bullet wound, that he was surprised to see had already been bandaged.

“So, if I’m gonna work for you I’m gonna need to know your name.” Shouta said defiantly, running his fingers through his tangled hair, shoving it out of his face and over his shoulder. The man threw his head back and roared with laughter.

“Sorry, kid, I can’t tell you that; security reasons and all.” He stood there, slender fingers lightly pinching his chin in a thinking pose. Then, slowly, a wickedly satisfied smile crossed his face.

“I suppose you can call me All Might.”


	2. Friends and Illnesses

Steam rose from the shower as Shouta leaned his head against the wall, sighing deeply, his wet hair clinging to his shoulders, trailing tiny rivers of water down his back. It had been a couple of weeks since the incident and he was mentally exhausted. Every thought that crossed his mind was of the moments his friends died, dragging him deep into depression, the overwhelming feeling of guilt never going away. A sob worked its way through his chest, and he choked it back desperately, sliding down the shower wall to sit with his arms wrapped tightly around his knees, while he let the tears flow. He cursed himself for being so weak; his usual gruff, nonchalant demeaner had dwindled down to almost nothing, only showing itself when All Might or one of the others made an appearance.

A knock at the bathroom door had him scrambling to his feet, pretending that nothing was wrong, keeping his back to the door. The door opened, a mass of blond hair curling around the corner as the bright blue eyes peeked in. Shouta turned slightly and scowled at him, thankful that the entire shower wasn’t made of glass, just the top half. All Might grinned sheepishly, slowly easing his hulking figure through the doorway, stopping to lean against the wall, arms folded over his chest.

“What do you want All Might?” Shouta growled, not in the mood to appease his new boss. “Can’t you see I’m busy, you know, taking a shower?”

A smirk crossed All Might’s face as he gazed at Shouta’s bare back, quickly coughing and looking at something else in the room.

“I have something to tell you, kid. Can you listen from in there or do I absolutely have to wait for you to finish?” He smirked again, eyes coming back to rest on Shouta’s muscular shoulders as the younger man sourly turned the steaming water off. Shouta turned his head back towards All Might, his wet hair hiding his face.

“If you’re going to stand there, do something useful and throw me a towel.” Shouta said quietly, annoyance clearly coming through his husky voice. All Might decided to oblige, tossing a fluffy black towel over the shower door and over Shouta’s head, completely missing his outstretched hand. The older man chuckled at the sight as Shouta yanked the towel off his head, wrapping it firmly around his waist, before opening the door and stepping out in front of All Might.

“Well? Did you have something to say or are you going to just stare?” Shouta asked, staring up into the blue eyes, that were now feigning innocence and trying desperately to find something else to focus on.

“Uh, yeah. It’s about what happened to you.” Shouta’s ears perked up, as he grabbed another towel and started vigorously drying his hair, flipping his head over and twisting the towel around his long locks, squeezing the residual water out. From his upside-down position, he stared back up at All Might, dark eyes serious.

“And? What did you find? Do you know who ordered it yet?” All Might cleared his throat, seeming almost nervous, finally forcing himself to make eye contact with Shouta.

“No, we still have no idea who did it. But we did find something interesting.” He took a deep breath, running his long fingers through his hair, trying to find the right words. “The bodies of your friends, Hizashi and Ochako, they were never found. Neither the coroner nor the police chief have even heard about their deaths, and they weren’t unknown persons at the morgue.” Shouta’s eyes widened in shock as he stood back up, flipping his now semi-dry hair over his shoulders.

“What?” he asked quietly, choking back another sob. He shook his head, forcing himself to calm down; he would never let All Might see his weakness again. “Then where could they have gone? What about their families?” All Might shook his head slowly.

“Ochako’s family has been missing since that day. And we couldn’t find anyone related to Hizashi.” All Might noticed Shouta tightly clench his fists, and stepped over, putting an awkward hand on his bare shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “I’m sorry, kid. But don’t worry, we’ll find them.” He gently pulled Shouta’s chin towards him, forcing him to make eye contact with him, his voice soft. “That’s a promise. We won’t give up until they are found, and we can put them safely to rest.” Shouta’s jaw clenched tight as he jerked free of All Might’s grasp, quickly turning his back to the older man.

“You bet your ass we will.” His voice rumbled intensely, the weight of his words hanging in the air. All Might dropped his head, sighing, then turned to leave; without thinking, Shouta grabbed his sleeve, keeping his face turned away. All Might stopped and turned back, a quick gasp breathed through slightly parted lips, as he stared at the hand clutching his dark blue suit sleeve. Shouta’s voice cracked, then steadied as he huffed a few words out, sincerely meaning them.

“Thanks, old man. Thank you for trying to find them.” All Might let a tiny smile slip past his lips, then nodded, lightly placing his fingers over the hand holding his arm.  
“Sure thing, kid. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, but I do want you to know that we’re here for you, all of us.” Shouta let out a small laugh, turning his head back to glance at All Might, before looking away again.

“Right, because Midnight doesn’t threaten to murder me every day and Orca could totally pummel me to bits without even flexing a muscle.” He let go of All Might’s sleeve, feeling the slender fingers brush his knuckles as he pulled away, turning around, a lopsided grin pasted on his face. “But, you know, I bet I could take Jean down, no problem. He looks a little flimsy to be honest.” All Might threw his head back laughing, blue eyes finally dropping their serious look; Shouta chuckled, crinkling his obsidian eyes, the depression lifting for just a moment. All Might sighed, the last of his laughter dying away, as he and Shouta unconsciously made eye contact; Shouta awkwardly ran his fingers through his hair, shoving his long bangs away from his face.

“So, not to run you off, but…I’m gonna run you off.” Shouta mumbled, crossing his arms over his solid chest, his bangs flopping back over his face, thoroughly defying him. All Might started, realizing that he was still standing in the bathroom with a reasonably attractive half-nude man, and he quickly backed toward the door.

“Sure thing, kid. Sorry I barged in. You, uh, yeah, go put some clothes on, or something.” Shouta had never seen someone move so fast, as All Might flung the door open and scurried out of the bathroom, knocking his knee on the doorframe, a gentle blush creeping up the back of his neck, slamming the door behind him. Shouta had to clap his hands over his mouth to hide the laughter bubbling up from inside him, tears squeezing out of tightly shut eyes; this moment of pure bliss was like a breath of fresh air for him.

However, the happiness was short lived as the waves of depression and emptiness crashed over his soul again, engulfing him completely. Shouta’s eyes darkened, his good feelings dissipating almost immediately; heaving a sigh, he leaned heavily on the counter, slowly making eye contact with himself in the large mirror hanging over the sink. He hardly recognized himself anymore; his once sparkling onyx eyes now looked dull and sunken in, dark circles ringing the now tired, bloodshot eyes. His hair was in desperate need of a trim, and he had forgotten when he had shaved last, running his hand over the thick stubble on his chin and jawline. He dropped his head, staring down at the sink, trying to sort out his thoughts, finally deciding that he needed a day to himself; he was disappointed for letting himself go so badly.

Turning to saunter out of the bathroom, he made his way down the darkened hallway to the room All Might had set up for him. Not much in the way of decoration, but it was functional, with a bed, dresser and desk placed strategically around the room. Since Shouta couldn’t go back to his tiny apartment to retrieve his belongings, All Might had constantly provided what he needed, clothes, shoes, and the like. Sometimes, to surprise him and to try to coax a smile out of him, he would occasionally bring a book or some other small creature comfort and leave it sitting outside his door for Shouta to find the next time he ventured out.

Throwing on a plain white tee shirt, he slipped into one of the dark hoodies that seemed to just keep reappearing in his closet and a pair of long, soft sweatpants that bunched up around his ankles, Shouta finally took up the arduous task of brushing his hair. After wrestling with it for a while, he finally got it tamed enough to twist up into a knot high on his head. Glancing at his reflection in the small mirror hanging on the back of the door, he nodded satisfied, he slid his feet into a pair of black combat boots and made his way out the door.

All Might had told him he was free to come and go as he pleased, so it wasn’t like he was being held hostage, but he had asked that if he wished to venture into the outside world to at least let someone know where he was planning to go, just in case something were to happen to him.

Shouta shuffled along the hallway, knocking first on Orca’s door, but there was no answer; once the initial shock wore off, Orca had turned into a pretty decent guy, treating Shouta like he belonged there, like he was part of the weird family that they had become. The tattoo he had seen on Orca’s head right before Midnight knocked his ass out was, unsurprisingly, a killer whale, which explained the nickname. Apparently, the man loved all kinds of marine life, keeping a huge fish tank in his room, and secretly acquiring new kinds of fish, making his collection a gorgeous addition to the dull room.

Midnight’s room was next; Shouta knocked soundly twice, leaning his head near the doorframe. No sound came from inside. So, she was out too, which surprised Shouta. She never seemed to leave, always hanging around in the background, keeping a watchful eye on him; Shouta understood her cautiousness and gave her plenty of room to move.

Finally, a rather frustrated Shouta knocked once on Jean’s door: no answer. This guy was hardly ever around; he was on the shorter side, with spiky blond hair, and he usually kept to himself. The only time you even noticed he was there was when All Might would call an occasional meeting and he would keep to the shadows, or you might spot his ancient denim jacket hanging haphazardly on a piece of furniture in the common room.

At this point, Shouta was done trying to get ahold of someone; he was a grown man for fuck’s sake, and he could damn well take care of himself.

Completely bypassing All Might’s room, he strode up the stairs and opened the door, leading outside. The hideout was, surprisingly, located in the middle of a middle-class business district on the other side of town from where Shouta had grown up. He shivered in the uncommonly cold fall weather, pulling his sweatshirt closer, and tucking his chin inside as he turned and walked up the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the closest convenience store was a couple miles away, if you walked, across a bridge that spanned a small river. 

He took his time, enjoying the fresh air, glancing around at the few people he saw. The walk was pleasant, albeit chilly, and he had what he needed to shave and trim his own hair a little while later. As he trudged his way back, he slowed down at the bridge, the setting sun framing the river gorgeously, making the area look just like a picture from a story book, he wished he had a camera to capture the beauty he saw before him.

Suddenly, he heard a small splash in the river just below his feet. Curious, he leaned over the railing to see what had hit the water; to his dismay and horror, a tiny pair of pointed black ears peeked out of the water, followed by the nose and whiskers of a kitten. The poor tiny thing hadn’t even caught a breath when it slipped under the water again, a single paw reaching up before disappearing.

Without a second thought, Shouta stripped off his sweatshirt, and dropped his bags on the sidewalk, launching himself over the rail of the bridge, cleanly diving into the freezing water. He opened his eyes to scan the murky water that was quickly growing darker until he spotted the little furball, sinking rapidly towards the bottom of the river. Taking long strokes, Shouta swam towards the kitten, reaching out to clutch it to his chest as he kicked toward the surface. As his face broke the water, he gently lifted the tiny creature into the air, stroking it until it coughed and sneezed out the excess water, shivering against Shouta’s heaving chest.

Only having one arm to paddle with, he slowly made his way to the shore, dragging himself out of the water, shivering violently as the wind picked up, freezing his soaking skin. Making sure to keep the little one protected from the wind, Shouta trudged back up to the bridge, picking up his discarded sweatshirt and his bags, carefully wrapping the sopping kitten in the dry clothes. Hugging the shivering little body close to him, Shouta started back, his teeth chattering as he picked up his pace.

As he got closer to the hideout, Shouta’s head started feeling rather sluggish, his steps becoming more labored; he figured that he was going to catch a cold from swimming in the chilly weather, but he didn’t mind. He could stand to have a cold as long as the kitten survived. With trembling hands, he unfolded the damp sweatshirt to peek at his little charge; she had curled up into a tiny ball and was sleeping soundly, her fur mostly dried and keeping warm against his chest. As he sighed with relief, he was overtaken by a violent sneeze, lurching him against the wall of the building nearest him; his lungs shook as he took a deep breath and he coughed hard to compensate.

Finally, the door he needed appeared before his eyes; he grasped the handle and jerked the door open, the wind blowing him the last few steps inside. Slowly, he turned and closed the door, locking it as All Might had instructed. Carefully picking his way down the stairs, Shouta desperately clutched the small life in his hands; he had made it back. But by this time, Shouta was definitely feeling the effects of swimming in the cold: his eyes swam, his body burning up with fever and his legs ached badly. Shuffling quietly past All Might’s room, Shouta reached out for his door handle, missing the first time and lunging right into the doorframe; he clasped it on the second try, wrenching the handle open and lurching into his room. Blackness was creeping along the edges of his vision as he gently set the sweatshirt holding the kitten in the corner of the room; as he turned to fall into bed, his sight disappeared completely, his heavy body collapsing soundly in the middle of the room, and he gladly let the darkness take over.

 

It was several hours later when Shouta moaned as he attempted to open his hot and heavy eyelids, successfully cracking one open to look at his surroundings; the only thing his blurry vision could make out was a pair of concerned baby blue eyes peering down at him. Shouta groaned again, trying to turn his head away, only to feel long fingers brushing his sweaty hair away from his forehead; All Might’s hand felt deliciously cool against his fevered skin, and for the first time, Shouta welcomed the caring touch of another person, pushing his head deeper into All Might’s touch. A low chuckle rumbled beside him and Shouta’s eyes slowly looked over to see his boss, dressed in a muscle-hugging black tee shirt and an oversized pair of joggers dyed in a screaming red, lying on his side, his arm snaking underneath Shouta’s head to stroke his hair. In his hazy state, Shouta weakly reached out to curl in tighter against All Might’s broad chest, startling the older man for a split second, before he gently wrapped his arms around the smaller man, hugging Shouta to him.

“Just rest for now, kid. I’m not going anywhere.” All Might whispered, and Shouta relaxed completely in his arms, allowing the darkness to take over once again.

When he awoke again, he was covered in some kind of heavy yellow blanket; All Might was sitting on the edge of the bed, a dark blue trench coat wrapping his shoulders, his freshly washed hair was twisted into a tight knot at the base of his skull. He heard the blanket rustle as Shouta tried to sit up, quickly jumping up to tuck him back in, placing a cold hand on his forehead, checking his temperature; Shouta moaned softly, pressing his head against All Might’s hand again.

“That feels really nice. Thank you.” He rasped, his voice dry and husky. Regretfully, All Might pulled his hand away, only to tuck it gently under Shouta’s shoulders, lifting him into a slight sitting position as he reached over and picked up a small glass off the desk, offering it to Shouta.

“Here, take a sip of this. The fever has dried you out quite a bit.” All Might spoke softly, bringing the glass to Shouta’s dry and cracked lips, carefully pouring a tiny amount of water into his waiting mouth, sighing as Shouta noisily swallowed the clear liquid. “How’s that?” he questioned. Shouta nodded slowly, his eyes starting to focus on things around the room, his body still heavy.

“Better, thanks.” Suddenly, Shouta noticed movement underneath the blanket All Might had tucked him into, and without warning, two little ears poked out right in front of Shouta’s face, the rest of the darling little face following, big green eyes staring at Shouta’s wide-eyed expression. All Might chuckled again, running a single finger under the kitten’s chin, drawing a purr from deep inside the tiny body.

“She seems quite taken with you. She hasn’t left your side once the entire time you’ve been asleep.” Shouta shakily reached a hand up to rub behind her ears, her purr growing louder as she pressed her head against his hand, asking for more. A small smile grew on Shouta’s face as he looked at the kitten; he’d always like cats, growing up keeping them in his apartment and volunteering at the shelter a few blocks over from where he had lived. But he’d never kept a kitten this small; he didn’t even know where to start to take care of her.

All Might shifted his weight to the edge of the bed again, slowly standing up and stretching his arms over his head.

“I’m going to pick up some kitten food for her. Is there anything you want? Anything in particular you crave when you’re sick?” Shouta glanced up, his eyes meeting the warm blue ones and he sighed, holding his hand over his mouth as a cough racked his tired body.

“I like spicy food when I’m sick.” Shouta’s voice broke, then grew slightly steadier. “Would you mind picking me up some spicy curry? I don’t care where it’s from.” All Might nodded, pulling a pair of leather gloves out of his pocket, slowly pulling them on his fingers, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

“I’ll get you some medicine too while I’m out. If you think of anything else, text me. You have my number.” He pointed to the desk and Shouta’s eyes followed, eyes growing wide as he spotted a brand-new cell phone lying just within arm’s reach. Shouta’s mouth dropped open, as he glanced between the phone and the grinning All Might.  
“Is that for me?” he choked out, his still sluggish brain not comprehending what was going on. All Might nodded.

“Yep. I figured you could use a way to communicate with us. Ok, kid?” Shouta couldn’t even argue, so he closed his tired eyes and nodded. All Might grinned again and turned to leave, twisting the door handle, when Shouta’s voice rasped out behind him.

“Shouta.” All Might slowly turned his head to look at the young man lying in bed.

“What?” he inquired, not sure he heard him right.

“Shouta. That’s my name. Shouta Aizawa. Now you can stop calling me ‘kid’.” Shouta managed a smirk before another coughing fit took over. All Might gave him the most gentle smile he had ever seen.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Shouta Aizawa.”

 

A little while later, All Might returned with Shouta’s spicy curry and a bottle of cold medicine. He opened the door to see Shouta struggling to sit up, the kitten batting at his long hair. A smile crossed his face as he stepped into the room, softly closing the door behind him, turning to set the take-out boxes on the desk, and shrugging off his long coat, neatly draping it over the desk chair. He turned back around to help Shouta into a sitting position, gently extracting the kitten’s tiny sharp claws from the long dark locks and setting her on the floor. The tiniest of mews sounded from the side of the bed, the kitten protesting being taken from her savior. All Might chuckled and went back to the take-out bag, opening the box of spicy curry and a package of chop sticks, gently settling them in front of Shouta, who nodded gratefully, ripping into the food before him.

All Might pulled a can of kitten food out of the bag and popped the aluminum tab, kneeling down by the desk and offering the fishy smelling food to the kitten, who immediately nosed her way into it, gulping down bite after bite. He stroked a large hand along her tiny back once, before standing and pulling out his own dinner. He plopped down in the desk chair and broke open his own chopsticks, digging into the platter of sushi with gusto. Shouta looked up at him as he put a whole piece of avocado roll in his mouth, his nose wrinkling. All Might chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed, looking back at Shouta.

“You don’t like sushi?” Shouta shook his head, making a face.

“No thanks. Just the idea of raw fish turns my stomach.”

“Well then, I won’t offer you any.”

A smirk crossed Shouta’s lips as he accepted the jab, slowly devouring the curry until he couldn’t eat another bite. All Might moved back to the bed, to take his empty take-out box and discarded chop sticks and helped settle him back in the bed.

“Hey, All Might?” Shouta’s voice, stronger than it was earlier, softly called out to him.

“Yes, Shouta?” the name passed his lips gently, sending a sudden shiver through him.

“Where is everyone? No one was here when I left.”

“Well, everyone does have a life outside of the mob, you know.” All Might gently climbed in beside Shouta, carefully tucking him against his side again, his arm wrapping around the smaller man as his hand rested on his forehead, checking his temperature; he was pleased to feel that he wasn’t nearly as warm as he had been a few hours earlier.  
“What does everyone do?” Shouta asked, a yawn breaking through, his eyelids growing heavy.

“Well, I can’t tell you their names, but Jean is a fashion designer.” Shouta snorted, a laugh spilling from his lips.

“I wish I was surprised. What about Orca?”

“He works in an aquarium and does part time work at a pet store a little way from here. Midnight mostly sticks with me during the day, but by night, she’s a Dominatrix who participates in the occasional, um, adult film.” Shouta’s eyes grew wide, then he nodded.

“Yeah I can see that. She’s got that crazy, leather, bull-whip fetish huh.” He said softly, eyes slowly drooping closed. “What about you, All Might? What do you do?”

The question caught All Might off guard; no one had ever asked what his actual occupation was, and he wasn’t sure how much he should tell. He took a deep breath, stroking Shouta’s hair.

“I used to teach high school, but now, I have a part time job teaching martial arts to younger kids in the neighborhood. You obviously know about my mob habits.” He said, smiling gently, looking over at Shouta, who was breathing lightly, head lolling into All Might’s chest as a quiet snore escaped him. A smile crossing his face, All Might slowly eased his arm out from under Shouta’s head, propping the pillows up to keep him comfortable. As he turned to the door, the kitten curled up beside her dish caught his eye, and he gently scooped her up, tucking her in the blanket on Shouta’s chest, her sleepy eyes winking open, then closing again, her head nuzzling into Shouta’s neck.

Softly, All Might turned out the lights, sneaking out the door, and closing it behind him, letting the man who was starting to capture his heart finally sleep in peace.


	3. For the Love of Caffeine

A little paw swiping at his nose awakened Shouta with a groan, blearily opening his eyes to stare in the darkness at the unblinking emerald eyes in front of his face. Gently, he rolled over to pick up the new cell phone off the bedside table, staring at the numbers across the screen: 3:12 a.m. Clicking the phone off again, he rolled back to snuggle the kitten to this chest, her purrs resounding deep into his soul, calming him. He stared into the darkness, suddenly shooting up straight, the kitten mewling in his arms. How the hell had he gotten back into bed? He remembered saving the kitten and struggling to get back home, then passing out before he could reach the bed, but anything after that was a blur.

The answer came to him softly, the only possible answer that there could be: All Might. How he had found him, Shouta didn’t know, but he sighed quietly, silently thanking the soft-hearted brute.

A soft click at the door had Shouta instantly snuggling back into the covers, burying his face into the pillow and pretending to be asleep, a fake snore slipping out as the mattress moved under another person’s weight. Gentle hands ran over his tangled hair, grazing his forehead, and he turned onto his side, barely opening his eyes in the darkness. A deep voice whispered from above him.

“Good, your fever broke.” All Might’s voice sighed softly, his hand stroking his hair once more, a sharp intake of breath reaching Shouta’s ear as the kitten took a swipe at All Might’s fingers. “Well, hello there. I’d almost forgotten about you, little one.” Shouta could hear the kitten’s purr as All Might cradled her in his arms. Finally, he couldn’t keep up the charade of sleeping any longer, startling All Might as he sat up, his hair falling into his face.

“You put me into bed, didn’t you. You…took care of me while I was sick.” Shouta’s eyes gleamed in the darkness as they adjusted, All Might’s form taking shape perched at the edge of the bed, his voice hoarse with sleep. “I had to still be soaking wet from the river. What happened, old man?” he demanded, his hand stroking the kitten’s ears, his fingers accidentally brushing the taut muscles in All Might’s arm, making the older man twitch at the contact. All Might sighed quietly in the darkness, realizing with disappointment that Shouta didn’t remember anything that had happened the day before.

“I heard the kitten meowing, so I decided to check on you. I found you lying face down in the middle of your room, unconscious, your clothes dripping wet and keeping you from warming up. So, I did what anyone should have done and put you in some dry clothes and tucked you in bed.” Shouta heard the smirk in his voice, his heart jumping in his chest at the thought of All Might stripping him and redressing him, then forced the thought out of his head, still unsure about what could be running through the older man’s mind.

“Thanks. Who knows how long I would have lain there had you not found me.” Shouta said, gratefully, slowly snuggling back into the covers, turning his back to All Might, shutting his tired eyes. He felt the kitten being gently placed back in the crook of his neck, her whiskers brushing along his jawline; he reached up to pull her into his arms, cuddling the soft fur against his chest. A chuckle escaped his visitor, as he stood, the warmth leaving Shouta’s back and, he kicked himself for feeling this way but, he missed the comfort of having someone right there with him, the warmth of another person pressed against his back. He heard All Might shuffle to the door and click it open, a sigh escaping his lips.

“Get some rest. I’ll check on you later.” He started to close the door, but Shouta called out to him.

“Why’d you check on me this late? You could have waited.” He heard him pause.

“You were whimpering in your sleep.” Shouta’s eyes shot open at the revelation. Had he been dreaming? Making his voice as deep and annoyed sounding as he could, he answered.

“I’m sorry for waking you. It won’t happen again.”

Another pause, then the door clicked shut, leaving Shouta wide awake, as his thoughts sent him spinning back into depression. He hadn’t thought about anything the entire time he’d been sick, but now that’s all he could think about, images of Hizashi’s dying eyes running through his head again. He threw his arm over his eyes with a soft groan, knowing he wouldn’t be going back to sleep anytime soon. He had to do something productive, something to get his mind away from the deathly stills he couldn’t chase from his memory. The thought of running away again crossed his mind for a split second, but he shoved that thought down. He was done running; he had a vow to complete, a debt to his friends to pay, and a friendly mob boss he couldn’t shake from his mind.

Rolling toward the desk, he picked up the phone again, opening a search tab and started looking for something to ease his pain, an idea forming in his mind.

 

The next morning, Shouta, who felt almost as good as new, stood in front of All Might’s desk in his office.

“You’re doing what? You’re in no condition to be doing ANYTHING.” All Might’s voice roared out as he stared at Shouta, who had a look of defiance on his face, hands buried deep in his pockets.

“You heard me. I’m getting a job. I’m tired of just sitting around here waiting for something to happen!” Shouta said, leaning forward placing his hands on the front of All Might’s desk. “You don’t get another gun shipment in for another couple of months, right old man?” All Might stared into the dark flashing eyes, nodding slowly, his voice softening.

“You’re right. It really must be boring around here with nothing to do and no news about my imposter and the fake truck heist. I’m sorry, kid.” Shouta snorted, annoyed at the whole situation, leaned even farther over the desk, his nose almost touching All Might’s, dark eyes boring into wide baby blues.

“You know, I told you my name for a reason.” Shouta’s voice dropped to almost a whisper. “Maybe you could use it.”   
All Might’s eyes widened, then quickly flicked down Shouta’s face, lingering just a second too long on his parted lips, then shot back up to his obsidian eyes. Shouta pushed himself off the desk and thrust his hands back into his pockets, his long hair falling over one eye, gaze still locked on All Might’s face, a smirk crossing his face.

All Might leaned back in his chair, intertwining his fingers together as he stared back at the younger man.

“All right, Shouta.” He said quietly, emphasizing his name, “Where exactly do you plan to work?”

“Actually, I already got a job.” Shouta shrugged nonchalantly. “I wasn’t asking permission, old man. I was informing you.” All Might sighed, dropping his face into his palms, his voice muffled.

“I should have figured. Where are you working?”

“The coffee shop two streets over.”

All Might had to suppress a smile as his head swam with images of Shouta working as a barista: long hair pinned high on his head, an apron wrapping his thin figure, his fingers lightly brushing the customer’s as he handed them their coffee, a genuine smile gracing his face. He lifted his head to stare up at Shouta for a while, finally nodding slowly.

“Fine. It’s a reasonably safe neighborhood.” He sat back in his chair again, a sudden unnerving thought running through his mind. “Have you ever actually had a real job?”

“Unless you count volunteering at the animal shelter as a job, no. But I’ll be fine, I learn quickly.” All Might chuckled.

“I bet you do. When do you start?” Shouta ran his fingers through his hair, raking it away from his face.

“I start tomorrow afternoon.” All Might’s eyes flew open in surprise.

“So soon? I figured they’d start you out next week.” Shouta shook his head, his eyes dropping slightly.

“At first they said Monday, but I asked if I could start sooner, so they said I could come in tomorrow.”

“Why the rush? You were laid up in bed all day yesterday.” All Might’s voice was soft, his eyes looking over at the younger man; Shouta continued to stare at the floor, his hair falling back into his face, his voice trembling, even as he tried to hide it.

“I just gotta do something. I’ve been here almost two weeks, All Might, and I feel like I’m drowning in my thoughts. If I have to sit here on my ass one more day and relive that experience again, I’ll tear my fucking hair out.” All Might shot up out of his chair, scurrying around the desk to stand in front of a lightly trembling Shouta, reaching a hand out to comfort him, then drawing it back, unsure of how to handle the situation, finally leaning forward putting his hand on the wall beside Shouta’s head, his other hand stuffed in his pocket.

“You know, if something’s bothering you, you’re more than welcome to come talk to me about it. I may not understand what you’re going through, but I’m always willing to listen.” He leaned in slightly, leaning his free hand on Shouta’s head, ruffling his hair. “Even if you don’t want to talk, but you need someone, I’m here.” Shouta’s hair obscured his eyes, even as he turned slowly towards All Might’s face, their noses a hair’s breadth apart, breath grazing each other’s lips, a slight flush creeping up All Might’s cheeks. Then he suddenly moved away towards the door, leaving the office; All Might was left alone, Shouta’s warm breath lingering on his lips as he rested his head on his hand left pressed against the wall and sighed deeply. He knew he was in trouble.

 

Early the next afternoon, Shouta was sitting on the floor of his room playing with the kitten. He was dressed for his first day of work in a pair of dark jeans and a fitted black tee shirt, his nicest dark zip-up jacket hanging on the back of the desk chair. His long hair was swept up in a half knot, the other half hanging nicely brushed around his shoulders, and his chin was free of stubble. A gentle smile crossed his face as the kitten playfully jumped on her hind legs to try and claw the few stray strands that had escaped over his forehead and he scooped her into his arms, nuzzling his face into her soft fur, sighing blissfully as he closed his eyes.

A knock at the door had him snapping his eyes open, the kitten craning her neck to see what the commotion was.

“It’s open.” He called softly, bringing his face to the kitten’s, as she placed her paws on his cheeks and licked the tip of his nose.

The door cracked open and baby blue eyes peered in, hesitatingly staring at the sight before him.

“May I come in?” All Might asked softly, not wanting to ruin the quiet moment.

“Since when do you ask?” Shouta huffed and set the kitten on the floor, standing up fully and stretching his arms over his head. All Might squeezed in and shut the door behind him, long black coat fluttering lightly, his unruly hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. Shouta’s eyes followed him as he knelt to run his fingers along the kittens back, her little paws reaching up to tug at his blond bangs and a small smile graced his face, staring at the hulking man playing so gently with such a tiny animal. “Her name is Takara.” All Might’s head snapped up, staring into the deep onyx eyes.

“Takara. ‘Treasure’.” His eyes sparkled as he glanced down at the little one, still playfully batting at his hair and the end of his long scarf that dangled over his broad shoulder. “It suits her.” He scooped Takara into his arms, gently cradling her as he turned to Shouta, who was slipping his arms into his jacket. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I had no idea how you were feeling, and I just assumed you were ok since you don’t say much or show emotion.” Shouta shrugged, zipping his jacket up to his neck.

“It’s fine.”

As Shouta turned to leave, All Might hurriedly set Takara on the bed, turning to grip Shouta’s shoulder.

“Wait, just a second.” Shouta turned back to see the older man unwrapping the long grey scarf from around his neck, stepping forward to gently wrap it back around Shouta’s neck and shoulders. All Might’s eyes twinkled as he looked at Shouta, whose eyes had grown wide at the touching gesture, the hint of a smirk in his deep voice. “Don’t want you to catch a cold.”

Shouta tucked his chin into the soft fabric, eyes fluttering closed as he adjusted it tighter, one end hanging slightly lower down his back. Finally, he glanced up at All Might, his voice muffled.

“Thanks, old man. It’s really warm.”

All Might beamed, and Shouta opened the door again, stepping into the hallway, hesitatingly closing the door behind him.

 

As Shouta walked the few blocks to his new job, he buried his nose into the soft and obviously well-worn scarf, breathing in deeply. This must have been one of All Might’s favorites: it radiated a soft scent, a clean warmth, like the smell the earth gives off after a warm summer rain. Shouta couldn’t help smiling into the scarf, swallowing down a tiny nameless feeling tugging at his heart.

Suddenly, Shouta stopped dead in his tracks, his face jerking out of the comfort of the scarf, eyes growing wide. He knew his eyes had to be playing tricks on him. A little way ahead of him, a mass of long blond hair tied up in a ponytail caught his eye. Shouta rubbed his eyes, and stared at the back of the stranger, as they half turned, their profile causing Shouta to break into a run. His head pounded the facts to him, but his heart refused to believe it. As the stranger turned a corner, Shouta ran even harder to catch up, his breath coming in short gasps, a name spilling over his lips in a breathy whisper.

“Hizashi?” No, it couldn’t be. He had watched him die, a bullet wound in his chest bleeding out into the street; he had watched the life leave his eyes. Yet, the man who had glanced back before disappearing around the corner looked exactly like his best friend, exactly like the ghost who haunted his dreams and his every waking moment.

Shouta turned the corner, but, to his dismay, the blond had vanished completely into thin air. Shouta’s breath came in short gasps from running so suddenly, as he looked about trying to locate the man who had caught his eye, but to no avail. He was gone.

Straightening up, Shouta turned and started back the way he was supposed to go, his thoughts whirling in his head. He knew what he had seen was impossible, and yet, he couldn’t believe that after seeing his friend walking down the street like nothing had ever happened. Shouta’s face steeled, promising to himself that he would find him again, as he pushed his face deeper into the scarf, All Might’s scent comforting him as he headed to work.

 

As it turned out, Shouta made the perfect employee at the coffee house: he was always attentive and kept everything tidy, keeping the customers pleased. His boss was so impressed, he decided to let Shouta learn how to close up since he seemed trustworthy enough, and Shouta enjoyed being on his own for a little while, his thoughts occupied with doing his absolute best at work. Whenever his shift was up and he would make it home, it would be super late at night, so he would just sneak back in, silently entering his room and playing with Takara for a little while before he would pass out. He hadn’t seen All Might at all since he gave him the scarf and Shouta was starting to miss the old man, not that he would have ever admitted it.

A week passed quietly, and dusk was falling, the rapidly cooling air pleasant for the evening crowd, couples walking leisurely up and down the street, some holding hands, some had arms around each other to ward off the chill. Shouta was busy at work, a few lingering couples chatting at the tables near the windows, a few single people staring off into the twilight. One by one the tables cleared out as the night deepened, leaving Shouta to clean up and look busy until he could close up. He really enjoyed what he did; it broke up the monotony that had been his life up to this point and seeing people actually happy to see him was a refreshing change. As Shouta wiped down one of the recently vacated tables, he happened to glance out the window to see a darkened figure leaning casually, just out of the reach of a streetlight across the street. The man wore scarlet hooded sweatshirt and loose-fitting navy sweatpants, the hood of his jacket pulled low over his brow, hiding his face from Shouta’s view. For a split second, Shouta was startled, then, as he got a closer look at the individual, he sighed, turned, wiped his hands on his apron, and noisily opened the door.

“I know that’s you All Might. You might as well come in, it’s cold out.” 

The figure jerked at the sound of Shouta’s voice, wisps of blond hair snaking out from under the hood as he raised his head, blue eyes warm with mirth. As he stepped across the street and into the now empty coffee house, he gracefully pulled the hood down, his wild golden locks shooting out in every direction. Shouta smirked and stepped behind the counter, rolling up his sleeves to the elbow and twisting his hair up into a messy knot, holding it in place with a pen.

“Coffee, old man?” he asked casually as he turned to pull a couple of mismatched mugs from the shelf. All Might fiddled with the strings hanging from his hood.

“Actually, I’m more of a tea drinker.”

“Of course you are.” Shouta rolled his eyes, a small grin crossing his face. “Green ok?” All Might’s face broke into a wide smile.

“Green tea’s fine, thank you.” He pulled up a seat at the bar, watching Shouta scurry gracefully around the small kitchen-like area. A few minutes later, a piping hot cup of green tea was pushed in front of All Might’s nose, it’s fragrant earthiness soothing; he gently blew on the steaming liquid before taking a small sip. He was pleasantly surprised, and his wide eyes met Shouta’s smirking ones.

“Didn’t think I could do it, did you.” Shouta said, casually leaning against the counter, sipping his own cup of black coffee, both his hands wrapped around the warm well-used mug. All Might started to shake his head no, then sheepishly nodded, his blond bangs flopping against his rugged face.

“I’m sorry for doubting you. You seem very well cut out for this.” Shouta shrugged, taking a sip of coffee, staring over the rim of his mug into the baby blue eyes, a smile in his dark eyes.

A comfortable silence followed as both men were left to their own thoughts, Shouta finishing first and starting his end of the night closing routine. All Might downed the last of his tea and pushed the empty mug back across the counter.

“Thanks for the tea, Shouta.” The younger man kept his back to All Might, nodding as he kept up his cleaning routine. All Might stood, nervously rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. “Would you mind if I waited to walk you home?” Shouta visibly stiffened at his words and All Might’s head dropped, disappointed, when Shouta’s soft voice called out.

“Do what you want, I’ll just be a few minutes more. But, would you mind waiting outside?”

All Might’s heart leaped in his chest, as he turned towards the door, pulling his hood up again.

“Sure thing.”

The air had grown cold as All Might waited just outside the door, blowing slightly heated breath onto his freezing hands before shoving them into his deep pockets, his hands brushing his ever-present pistol he kept strapped to the lining of his pocket. A few minutes later, Shouta appeared, long scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, as he turned and locked the door behind him before facing a shivering All Might, a slow grin crossing his face.

“You cold, old man?” All Might straightened up, halting his shivering and staring down into the twinkling dark eyes.

“Nope, I’m fine.” Shouta shrugged, as he moved to walk next to All Might.

“Too bad. I was gonna share my scarf.” All Might froze in his tracks at the casual comment, shocked that Shouta would even say such a thing; and damn if he wasn’t disappointed. He caught back up with the younger man, matching stride with him, frozen hands still buried in his pockets.

“So, you like your job?”

Shouta turned to look into the blue eyes, eyes flicking down the length of his body for a split second before turning back to face the road ahead.

“Yeah, I like it. It keeps my mind and hands busy, so I don’t have too much time to think.” He smirked, his breath coming in frosty waves, “Besides, I’ve always liked coffee. It keeps nightmares from coming by keeping me from sleeping.” All Might looked down at him, noticing for the first time the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. He reached a cold hand out to rest it gently on Shouta’s shoulder.

“You need sleep, Shouta. You’ll wear yourself down without it.”

“Maybe. But I just wind up dreaming about what happened.” Shouta’s eyes dropped to the sidewalk. “That’s worse than not getting enough rest. Although, I thought was hallucinating the other day.” All Might’s ears perked up and he tightened his grip on Shouta’s shoulder.

“What happened?”

“I swore I saw Hizashi.”

All Might stopped dead, staring at Shouta who had also stopped walking, tired eyes staring up into the hooded face, expecting to see concern; instead, he saw shock flashing in those blue eyes.

“When was this, Shouta?”

“The day I started work. But it couldn’t be him: he’s dead. My mind must have been playing tricks on me.” He turned and started walking again, leaving the older man behind, All Might’s thoughts whirling around a single image, a name long unspoken, finally coming together enough for him to shake his head and hurry to catch up to the younger man. Shouta had stopped a few steps ahead and had turned to wait on All Might, sighing and holding his hand out towards the older man.

“Your hands must be freezing. I can warm up one of them at least for you, if you want.” All Might stepped close, hesitantly reaching out and grasping Shouta’s surprisingly warm hand, his own freezing fingers warming on contact; Shouta hissed at the cold touch, pulling All Might closer and walking more quickly. “Come on, old man, let’s go home. It’s too cold out here for you.” He turned his head away, a tiny flush creeping up his cheeks, as All Might continued to stare at the man who never ceased to amaze him, and lightly squeezed his hand as they hurried off into the night.

 

Every day after that, at some point during Shouta’s shift, All Might would appear, drinking the tea that Shouta would make for him. He couldn’t help it, he liked watching the younger man work. He was surprisingly friendly with the customers and always seemed to have a gentle smile on his face, a smile that All Might couldn’t quite get him to throw his way.

One afternoon, the weather changed, a surprising snow shower blew in, scattering thick white flakes over the streets. Naturally, with the cold came more customers for Shouta, coffee and tea warming the patron’s bodies and souls. As he bustled around the coffee bar, a couple of attractive younger girls caught his eye; they had been staring at him for awhile now, giggling whenever he would look their way. One seemed to be rather shy, a graceful blush creeping her warming cheeks, short dark hair falling into her eyes as she looked away; the other seemed bolder, bright pink hair tied up into a long ponytail, as she openly stared at the young man, a slow smile crossing her face as she leaned back against the counter, her dark eyes meeting Shouta’s. He hurriedly turned away, slightly uncomfortable with how she was looking at him; he had never been one to get involved with women.

The bell above the door jangled cheerfully as All Might’s hulking figure blew in, large hands brushing snow flakes off the shoulders of his long dress coat and batting them out of his messy ponytail, golden bangs flopping against his forehead. Shouta couldn’t help staring at him as he slid his gloves off his fingers and shrugged out of his coat, lying it gently on the back of the unoccupied sofa facing a crackling fireplace, settling himself deep into the comfortable cushions. He ripped his eyes away to heat the water for All Might’s tea; damn, the man was attractive any way he looked at him, and he didn’t want to admit that.

A few minutes later, the tea was ready, and his customers had thinned, leaving him time for a well-deserved break. Quickly, he poured himself a cup of black coffee and made up a small plate of sweet dumplings, making his way past the girls at the bar, who both stopped their idle chatting to stare at him as he glided by. Gently he set the mug of tea and the dumplings on the low table in front of All Might, settling himself into the sofa beside the older man, gratefully sipping his coffee, hearing the girls start whispering to each other again behind him. All Might threw a gentle smile at him, blowing on the tea before taking a tiny sip, then picking up one of the dumplings, tossing the whole thing in his mouth, chewing slowly, savoring the sweetness of the red bean paste.

“Funny, I never pegged you for a mochi guy.” All Might’s voice rumbled quietly, causing Shouta to slightly turn to look at him through his bangs that had escaped the low knot tied at the base of his neck.

“Really? It’s one of my favorites.” Shouta said quietly, picking up a dumpling and biting into it, eyes rolling back in delight, his shoulders slumping against the couch. All Might chuckled, sipping his tea, turning his head slightly to look back at the counter where the two girls sat, chatting quietly, eyebrows bunching thoughtfully between his azure eyes.

“The girl with pink hair is into you.” 

Shouta choked on his bite of mochi, swallowing a mouthful of coffee to wash it down. All Might bit into another dumpling, his eyes cutting over to the younger man. 

“Is she your type?” Shouta’s eyes bored into All Might’s, staring at him hard, hardly believing what he was hearing. He sighed, closing his hand around another dumpling, pausing to answer before popping the whole thing into his mouth.

“No. I’m not really into girls like her.”

All Might’s face relaxed with relief hearing that.

“But there is someone I’m interested in.” 

All Might’s hand froze halfway to his mouth at Shouta’s soft-spoken words, turning to stare at the younger man who had his face hidden by his coffee mug. All Might knew it wasn’t his place to ask, so he choked down his questions and gulped down his tea. Simultaneously, both men reached for the last dumpling, hands brushing together; All Might’s face reddened all the way to the tips of his ears as Shouta quickly jerked his hand away, standing up, turning his back to the older man as he stepped away.

“The last mochi is yours anyways, old man.”

All Might was at a complete loss as Shouta went back to work, seemingly forgetting what had just happened between them. But he didn’t see the blush creeping up Shouta’s neck, painting his cheeks with a cozy warmth. Quickly, All Might finished his tea, stood up and pulled his coat back on, slowly slid on his gloves and picked up the plate and empty mug, taking them to the counter and slid them towards Shouta, who still had his back to him.

“Last one’s yours, kid. See you at home.” All Might's voice was softly hoarse as he turned and swept out of the shop, snowflakes blowing in through the door before it closed gently behind him. Shouta whirled around to find the last mochi untouched on the plate and his heart pounded in his chest. He stared out the door for a few minutes before a soft, distinctly female voice spoke up behind him.

“You suck at this.”

Shouta shot his eyes over to the girl with long pink hair, her eyes twinkling as she stared back at him.

“What should I do?” Shouta asked softly, twisting his fingers together nervously; he had never felt this way before and he was at a total loss. “I don’t know how I feel about him, but I know I’m attracted to him.” The girl snorted, making her friend blush uncomfortably.

“Well, I’d start with sending him flowers and asking him to dinner. You two seem close enough, that plan should keep things simple, without screaming ‘I love you to the moon and back’.” She said calmly, taking a sip of her cappuccino, wrapping her free arm around the girl beside her; the shy girl stiffened, then melted into her embrace, laying her head on her shoulder. Shouta stared at them, ideas racing around in his head.

“Flowers and dinner, huh. That could be casual enough.” The girls giggled, standing up and wrapping themselves in their heavy coats.

“Good luck, lover boy.” She said as they walked out of the coffee shop, giving him a small wave and a thumbs up as they closed the door behind them, leaving Shouta standing there speechless.

He decided to close up a little early and do what the girl suggested, calling a local flower shop while he cleaned up, ordering a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to the tall blond guy at the address he gave them, and gave them a message to put on the card. He hung up, nervously wiping his hands on his apron as he untied it from behind him, hanging it on the hook next to the back door, pulling on his nice black jacket and wrapping All Might’s scarf around his neck and shoulders, breathing in his scent as he closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but for once, he was taking the plunge. All Might was slowly starting to take over his every thought, pushing his previous depression out of his head; he couldn’t help smiling as he locked the door, twilight approaching quickly, the snow not letting up in the least. Shouta breathed out in the frosty air, true happiness filling his heart and he quickened his steps.

A sudden jerk on his shoulder pulled him backwards, causing him to lose his balance and falling into someone’s waiting arms, a hand clapping over his mouth ,muffling his startled yell, his arms jerked behind him. Shouta struggled hard, panic overwhelming his mind as a blunt object made contact with the base of his skull and Shouta lost consciousness, his unseen captors dragging him off into the night.

 

All Might had just stepped out of the shower and was toweling off when the doorbell rang. He cursed under his breath; his day had gone from great to terrible in the space of two seconds when Shouta admitted he was attracted to someone. He knew it couldn’t be him; the kid had done nothing to show even the slightest interest in him, his dark eyes staying steady no matter the circumstances. Now, he didn’t even have time to dress before he had to open the door.

Wild golden hair sticking up every which way and a towel wrapped around his waist, All Might opened the door, surprised to find a tiny delivery girl holding a huge bouquet of bright yellow sunflowers in a shiny red vase. Her wide dark eyes peered up at the huge blond man, his blue eyes staring down in wonder.

“Um, my only instructions were to deliver these to the tall blond man who lives at this address. No name was given, so I assume these belong to you.” She squeaked, as she thrust the bouquet up into All Might’s waiting arms, turned and fled. All Might stood in shocked curiosity for a moment before he shivered in the cold air, turning and closing the door behind him. Immediately, he searched for a note of some sort to identify the person who had sent these, his heart bursting with a faint hope. He found the note attached to the bottom of the vase, and his eyes grew wide as he read, a huge smile crossing his face.

'So, I suppose I should clear up any misunderstanding, old man. It’s you that I’m attracted to. If you happen to feel the same, join me for dinner tonight. Please.' The note listed a time and a nice restaurant just up the street from where they lived, and All Might hugged the flowers to his chest, racing to get himself ready, stopping every few minutes to laugh happily and stare at the gorgeous sunflowers, thinking of the man who had sent them. For the first time, he had trouble deciding what to wear, finally settling on a pair of black jeans with a deep crimson button up shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black comfortable boots. He slid into his favorite long navy coat and twisted his golden locks into a low knot at the base of his neck, making sure to slick his bangs back. He hurried into Shouta’s room to feed Takara, stroking her soft back for good luck before he took off down the hallway, throwing the door open and stepping out onto the snow-covered sidewalk.

Checking his watch as he left, he made his way through the cold streets, his pounding heart warding off the chill, his face flushing at the thought of the evening to come. He arrived at the restaurant and gave Shouta’s name, the hostess seating him next to the window and handing him a menu. Not feeling hungry for the moment, he stared outside at the falling snow, waiting for the man who filled his dreams to walk in the door.

But Shouta never showed.


	4. Agony and Suffering

Night had long since fallen and the snow lay thick on the sidewalk as All Might trudged home, hands stuffed deep into his coat pockets. He had waited a long time for Shouta to arrive, even tried calling him a few times, but there had been no answer. He set his mouth in a hard line, frustrated with the younger man; if this was his idea of a joke, it sure as hell wasn’t funny. All Might had real feelings for the kid; he had no idea where they had come from or even when they really began, but he knew he had fallen hard for Shouta. He loved the smirks he would throw at him, the dazzling dark eyes that twinkled when he said something funny or sweet, the long flowing hair that always fell over his handsome face, even his occasional sassiness and general smartass comments. All Might sighed, turning to open the door to the hideout, his hand shaking.

Midnight stepped across his path as he closed the door behind him, her long hair tied up in a ponytail, long toned legs swathed in tight black yoga pants, a salad and a full glass of deep red wine balanced in her hands; she stopped when she saw All Might’s face.

“Hey Boss? What’s upset you?” she asked softly, taking a sip of her wine, big blue eyes staring curiously into All Might’s darkened face.

“It’s nothing, Midnight.” He growled angrily, not wanting anyone to know his feelings just yet. “Eraser in his room?”

The dark-haired beauty shrugged, worry flashing across her delicate features.

“I haven’t seen him tonight. Not sure if he’s come home yet.”

That concerned him. He tore down the hallway flinging Shouta’s door open, startling Takara who had been grooming, and sent her scurrying under the bed. All Might gazed around the room; everything was exactly as he had left it when he fed the kitten. Shouta hadn’t been home.

“Fuck.” All Might cursed under his breath, slamming the door and sprinting back towards the entrance, a sick feeling of dread creeping up deep in his core. Midnight watched him race past her again, a look of confusion crossing her face.

“You need help, Boss?”

All Might paused to look back at her, blue eyes darkening, the mob boss inside him going into full business mode.

“I might. I’m gonna go check the coffee shop. If he’s not there, we’ve got a problem.”

Midnight sighed and drained her wine glass.

“I’ll get the boys up then.” A wicked smirk crossed her face. “It’s been awhile since we’ve seen any action. This could be fun.”

 

All Might’s long dark coat fanned out behind him as he made his way through the snow towards the coffee shop, pausing every now and then to listen and scan the surrounding area for a clue as to where Shouta had gone. He stared down at his feet, watching the footprints for any signs of a scuffle, but finding none. His heart raced in his chest, worry evident on his face as he turned the final corner towards Shouta’s workplace.

He stopped suddenly, crouching down near the darkened doorway, staring at the slushy mess where he counted four pairs of footprints outlined in the snow, eventually following the trail with his eyes, terror crossing his heart when he realized only three pairs of feet left the street. A flash of cloth caught his eye, waving in the frozen wind, attached to the corner of the building at the end of the street. All Might stood and hurried over to snatch it up, gasping as he recognized a ragged torn fragment of the scarf he had given Shouta. Clutching it tightly in both hands, he stared out at the street, noticing the tire tracks that led away from where he stood, eyes narrowing at the snowflakes whipping into his face.  
He heard footsteps behind him, and he turned to find Midnight, Orca and Jean, dressed warmly, yet in clothes easy to move around in; they clearly anticipated a fight before long, their weapons armed and ready.

“Any idea where he could have gone, Boss?” Orca asked, his deep voice rumbling through All Might’s veins. The older man shook his head, gently tucking the scarf fragment away in the pocket of his coat, next to his pistol. Slowly, he started pacing, his thumb and forefinger stroking his chin; the rest of the gang patiently watched him, knowing this was his routine whenever he was figuring something out.

Suddenly, his head snapped up, a horrible thought running through his mind; out of all the people who had grudges against him, only one stood out as possibly crazy enough. All at once, all of the puzzle pieces fit together in his head: the truck heist, Hizashi’s and Ochako’s deaths and subsequent disappearances, now Shouta’s kidnapping, they all fell into place and something inside All Might snapped.

“That MOTHERFUCKER!” All Might roared, ripping his hair from the knot it had been twisted in, making the rest the group jump back, startled; they weren’t used to seeing their Boss get so worked up over something like this. Midnight stepped forward shaking her head, her hand reaching for her whip hanging from her hip.

“Surely not. He couldn’t. Could he?” All Might nodded solemnly, raking his long fingers through his hair, golden locks sticking up every which way, giving him an even more wild look; he stared out at the rest of his team, knowing they would follow him anywhere he led, no matter the circumstances, no questions asked.

“I’m gonna warn you all. This isn’t going to be pretty or fun. You know this man won’t hesitate to kill you. You all know exactly what he’s capable of.” He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly into the frosty air, making eye contact with each person standing in front of him. “If you wish to retreat, you may do so. I won’t think any lesser of you.” He dropped his head, sighing deeply.

A snicker came from the large man in front of him, and Midnight had to cover her mouth to hide a grin peeking through. All Might looked up at them, a frown creasing his forehead as the sultry woman couldn’t hold back and barked out a hoarse laugh, Orca letting a smile cross his face, Jean standing there a smirk crossing his normally expressionless features.

“Is there a problem?”

Midnight choked back another laugh, glancing over at her companions, then staring deep into All Might’s eyes.

“No, Sir. But we’re not leaving you. We know what this guy’s done and we know you can’t do this alone.” A smirk crossed her dark blue eyes. “We’re gonna help you get your boy back.” All Might’s eyes opened wide at her words, drawing more giggles from the three idiots standing in front of him.

“You knew?”

“Duh!”

“It was so obvious, Boss.” Orca spoke up, a chuckle escaping through his grin. “We knew he was something special the night we dragged him into your office; we all saw the way you looked at him. We’ve just been waiting for you to break the news to us.”

All Might sighed, his face dropping to stare at the snowy sidewalk under his feet; the laughter died away as they grasped the seriousness of the situation.

“Wait, you two are together, right?” Midnight questioned, her voice lowering; All Might couldn’t meet her eyes.

“I had hoped tonight would be it. He sent me flowers and asked me to dinner, but then he never showed up.” A gasp escaped Midnight as her eyes flew open. All Might finally looked up, his blue eyes steeling, a snarl escaping his lips. “I’m not just gonna stand by while someone steals the man I’ve fallen in love with.” Shocked expressions quickly turned into smiles as they realized what he had just confessed, All Might blushing scarlet all the way to the tips of his ears. Midnight stepped forward, gently placing her hand on All Might’s shoulder, her blue eyes sparkling.

“Then we’ll get him back. No matter what.”

 

Blinding, stabbing pain brought Shouta out of the blackness that had enveloped him; he attempted to open his eyes, only to realize something dark had been wrapped over them, preventing him from seeing. He groaned in agony, but his voice was choked back and muffled by a rough, scratchy gag tied firmly across his mouth, knotted tightly at the back of his neck. He felt like his shoulders were being pulled out their sockets, his arms tied together high above his head, his feet not even reaching the ground, his body completely suspended in the air; his ankles were pulled apart, chained to the floor, taking away the possibility of kicking someone or making any kind of escape attempt.

Though his eyesight was cut off, Shouta could still hear what was going on around him; muffled voices spoke in hushed tones, the low humming of monitors echoing around the room, an occasional beeping noise. He didn’t hear any kind of outside noises which was concerning; he had no way to guess where he was without some kind of external telltale sign. Panic swelled in his mind; he had absolutely no way out of this, and he was frightened. Fear was a new emotion for Shouta; he usually wouldn’t care what happened to him, and pain had little effect on him. He struggled slightly, testing the strength of his bonds, realizing that his hands were handcuffed, and he groaned silently; handcuffs were hard enough to get out of when his arms weren’t stretched to their limit.

Suddenly, Shouta sensed movement beside him and a long thin blade slid under his blindfold, slicing it off and he squinted in the dim light, his eyes adjusting to the semi-darkness. He made a quick scan of the room, noticing the layout was like that of an office building with individual cubicle spaces, noting several computer monitors flashing numbers and colors across their screens. Slowly, he brought his focus into the center of the room, dark eyes settling on an occupied dark leather armchair. A man he had never seen before sat before him, legs crossed at the knees, black suit impeccably pressed, a curious look in his eyes.

“So, you’re Shouta Aizawa.” Shouta’s eyes grew wide hearing his name from a total stranger; not many people knew him, and no one he knew was like this man, cold and calculating. The stranger frowned slightly. “You’re not exactly what I was expecting.” The man pressed his fingers together as though deep in thought. “I was expecting,” he smirked evilly, “well, more.” He sat back in his chair comfortably and continued to stare at Shouta, who glared at him through his curtain of hair that was hanging in his face, since he couldn’t really do much else. After a long moment, the stranger sighed and snapped his fingers. “Well, let’s get started, shall we? Ah, Shigaraki. I believe you’ve already met.” A younger man appeared beside Shouta and he turned to look at him, eyes widening when he recognized the man who went back and forth between Shouta and his former boss, the man who led the wrong truck to his gang and, in turn, got them killed. He cut his eyes back to the man in front of him, suddenly realizing that he must have been the one to order the murder his of friends. This man before him was the one he had vowed to kill.

Furious, Shouta growled deep in the back of his throat, a sound that was quickly turned into a low moan as Shigaraki turned and punched him hard in his abdomen, and Shouta collapsed against his restraints, his breath sufficiently knocked out of him. Slowly, he raised his eyes back to the man sitting in front of him, hatred oozing out of him, and the man chuckled.

“You poor, poor boy. We’re just getting started.” He smiled sadistically, as Shigaraki hit him again; this time, Shouta heard ribs cracking and he dropped his head, gasping for air. He had no idea why they were doing this to him, or what they had planned, but he knew it couldn’t be good.

Shigaraki pummeled him for another few minutes in various strategically painful places, until the stranger snapped his fingers again; only then did the younger man step away to stand beside his boss. Shouta was struggling to catch his breath; he knew he had several broken ribs and his lungs weren’t wanting to work properly, but they didn’t feel punctured. And yet, the fire still burned deep in his eyes, his spirit not quite broken. The stranger smirked again, snapping his fingers twice.

“I suppose I should tell you what we’re doing here, Shouta.” His eyes took on a faraway glare, and Shouta really didn’t like where this was going; he had a terrible feeling gnawing at the pit of his stomach. “You see, when I was a young man, I had always been fascinated with the human brain, how it worked and what made it tick. So, I studied hard and earned an M.D. in neurology, but it wasn’t enough. I was never satisfied with what I had learned.” His eyes flickered to something behind Shouta, then quickly glanced back, staring through Shouta’s tired onyx eyes. “One day, I decided to pursue the path of bio-mechanics. I wanted to build something that would be regarded as the most wonderful and useful invention known to man, using my knowledge of the human brain to enhance my design.” His eyes narrowed, a hint of anger showing through. “But everyone called me crazy. They said that what I was creating was evil and could only be used as such. But they were wrong. What I’ve created is a new kind of technology that will revolutionize the world!” Suddenly, a wide smile crossed his face, Shouta feeling worse and worse by the minute, knowing something was horribly wrong. The man’s smile faded, an evil smirk replacing it. “I like to play with people’s minds, Shouta. I like being in complete control, and I love the reactions I receive in response to my work.”

There was movement at Shouta’s side, and he slowly turned his head to see who had approached, his eyes flying open as a muffled scream tore through his body. There stood Hizashi, a blank, dead look in his whitened eyes, his sunken face devoid of any emotion, still wearing the clothes he had died in, the crimson stain making it seem even more impossible for him to be standing next to Shouta. A slow grin crossed the stranger’s lips as he watched Shouta desperately struggle in his restraints, tears streaming down his face as he tried with all his might to reach out to his best friend; but Hizashi just stood there, not once glancing at Shouta, staring blankly ahead.

“Oh my, this was even better than I had hoped for.” Shouta hung his head, unable to stop the tears flowing from his eyes, his tangled dark hair falling into his face. The man snapped his fingers twice again and Hizashi walked forward to stand on the opposite side of his chair from Shigaraki, turning to face Shouta again. The man spoke, his voice light. “You see, he’s still dead. I had his body well preserved and I’ve used my technology to reactivate his cerebellum, the part of his brain that affects motion and balance. His thoughts and emotions are gone; they died when he did. But now,” the man snapped once and Hizashi slowly reached behind him and pulled a revolver out of the waistband of his pants, aiming it directly at Shouta’s heart, “he’s completely controlled by me. He will do everything I tell him to; a simple snap will trigger the microchip I implanted in his brain.” The man spoke slowly, grinning at Shouta’s distraught reaction and snapped twice. Hizashi slowly, robotically, lowered the gun, placing it back in his waistband, where Shouta knew he had always kept it, safely tucked away underneath the back of his tee shirt.

The stranger stared into Shouta’s dark eyes, slowly sitting forward to rest his elbows on his knees, wicked smile widening. “I’m sorry to say that I used you, Shouta. I needed a small group of people to test my implants on, and your neighborhood was perfect, out of the way and almost completely unnoticed.” He sighed quietly, almost sounding disappointed. “Unfortunately, no one survived the experiments. But that’s when I had my biggest breakthrough.” His eyes flashed excitedly as he spoke, Shouta staring back, a deep growl creeping up the back of his throat. “I didn’t need living brain tissue; that would only complicate things, with emotions and feelings getting in the way and preventing me from taking over. I only needed to restart a dead brain to be able to take complete control.” Shouta’s eyes flew open as a sickened feeling boiled up in his stomach; the man’s features twisted into a smirk. “Those experiments that failed had their brains ‘short circuited’ if you will, so I simply killed them and took over completely. However, with shorting out their brains, they don’t function as well as Hizashi here.” The man jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards the dimly lit monitors; Shouta squinted in the dark, his breath catching as he saw the still forms of what used to be his neighbors slumped in chairs before the moniters. The brightly colored lights flashing on the screens seemed to indicate how much brain activity there was, and occasionally, one of the misshapen forms would jerk violently.

Shouta dragged his eyes back to the smirking man sitting before him, dark eyes sparking with hatred. The man sat back, crossing his legs again, and giving a low whistle.

“You know, I can control the chips with more than just a snap; it just depends on the person I’m controlling. For example, if I wish to be gentler with someone, a snap might be considered too harsh.” A slight movement to his left had Shouta jerking his head, eyes widening before whipping his face back to the grinning man in front of him as he struggled harder against his bonds, his dark eyes furiously flashing, more tears threatening to fall.

Little Ochako glided out of the shadows to stand in front of the man, who pulled her into his lap, his gaze catching Shouta’s eye, as a smile that could almost be considered satisfied crossed his face. He gently brushed her short dark hair away from her whitened eyes that stared blankly ahead, her tiny body forced to do this villain’s bidding. Shouta was beyond angry now; Hizashi was one thing, he was an adult when he died, but Ochako was only a child. What kind of monster would dare defile a little girl’s dead body in such a way?

“With all of my experiments and clinical trials, I was never able to settle down and start a family of my own.” The stranger said softly, long arms wrapping gently around Ochako’s tiny shoulders. “When I saw what my men had done, I knew this was my chance at happiness, to have a child of my own.” His eyes narrowed at Shouta as he lifted Ochako off his lap to settle her back on the floor, and he gave a short high whistle; Ochako sauntered off into a dark corner of the room, her eyes unblinking as she passed Shouta.

The man stretched his arms over his head, a bored look crossing his face. “Well, this has been fun, but I’m afraid now we must get down to business. You see, I didn’t exactly bring you here to learn about my brain control, although you’ll soon see for yourself how it’s done.” Turning his head, he nodded at Shigaraki, who produced his thin blade from somewhere in the folds of his clothes, and he took a step towards Shouta. The man sat back, hands clasped together, his pointer fingers pressed together against his lips in thought. “This is all in the name of revenge, Shouta. It’s nothing personal, I assure you. I’m doing this for the sole purpose of getting back at my old apprentice, who left me before my invention was complete; he said it was unethical and he didn’t agree with my stand on human experimentation.” Confusion flickered in Shouta’s eyes as he stared at his captor. “But I taught him everything I know. He was going to take over the section of the mob that I am in charge of when I decide to retire. Then he goes off and starts stealing my weapons and causing trouble in my name.” Anger laced his voice as his eyes flashed; Shouta could only stare at the blade in Shigaraki’s hand, a sick feeling washing over him. “So, I decided to follow him and best decide how to exact my revenge. I’ve been keeping an eye on him for a long time, but he’s never done anything suspicious or out of the ordinary.” A sickening smile crossed his face as he looked deep into Shouta’s dark eyes. “At least, until he decided to take you in.” Shouta’s eyes flew open as the realization dawned on him, staring in shock at the man sitting before him. “Now, I have the perfect solution. I’ll simply torture him, through you. I’ll make sure to send him something of yours that he’ll recognize, then I’ll kill you and make you one of my puppets. And then, you’ll kill him for me.” Shouta fought against his restraints as Shigaraki stepped closer, knife shining in the dim lighting. “I think one of your eyes will get the message across.” The man sat back comfortably, nodding to Shigaraki. “Go ahead.” The blade glinted as it slowly approached Shouta’s right eye; Shouta struggled harder, twisting his face away desperately, only to have Shigaraki firmly grip him under his chin, the point of the knife mere centimeters away from his face.

A sudden explosion from behind his captor interrupted them, Shigaraki losing his balance and the blade of the knife slicing deep into the skin below Shouta’s eye. He screamed in pain and squeezed his eyes shut tightly and turned his head away as the world around him became clouded with debris, the entire back wall crumbled to dust. All was eerily quiet for a moment, Shouta’s screams morphing into muffled whimpers, his two captors totally incapacitated for just a second; Hizashi, however, was still standing ramrod straight, completely unaffected by the blast.

Finally, he opened his eyes, squinting in the hazy dustiness, to make out a tall, broad figure emerging through the debris, the dim daylight shining behind him, casting a shadow around him, blacking out his features. And then, the most beautiful deep voice called out softly through the haze, bringing grateful tears to Shouta’s eyes.

 

“I’m here to get you, kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter is so short, All Might decided this was the most fitting place to stop for a moment.


	5. Bloody Hell

As the cloudiness dissipated somewhat, Shouta stared at All Might’s hulking form, his heart soaring with relief as he spotted three more hazy figures emerging through the crumbling wall. Never once had he even thought that those three would ever come to his rescue, but now, here they were. Midnight stepped through first, long dark hair gracefully whipping around her shoulders, her creamy skin-tight outfit rippling as she moved in the dimness, thigh-high boots crunching on the chunks of debris; in her right hand, she held her chain whip at the ready, and in her left, she kept a dark revolver pointed out in front of her, whipping around to aim at anything that moved. Orca and Jean moved around All Might together; Orca had put on a dark suit and flexed his thickly muscled arms, pounding together an obsidian pair of brass knuckles, a menacing look on his dark face. Jean was brushing himself off and paused next to All Might, who clapped a hand on his thin shoulder.

“Nice explosion control, Jean. I’m impressed.” Jean, ever the conversationalist, simply nodded, batting dust out of his hair; he couldn’t stand getting dirty during a mission. Once he was remotely satisfied with his appearance, he pulled a large pistol out of a holster attached to his hip and skillfully twirled it around his finger, looking rather like a cowboy as he did so. Finally, All Might stepped into the dim, flickering lighting, blue eyes bright, his navy coat swirling around his long legs, two matching black revolvers clutched in his steady hands, both barrels pointing in different directions. They were there for a fight, and they didn’t intend to lose.

Shouta moaned as loudly as he could, to try to let them know he was all right, only to be suddenly silenced by a knife held against his throat; Shigaraki had recovered, the blade in his hand steady, his other hand reaching up to roughly grip a handful of Shouta’s hair and yank it back, exposing his throat even more. All Might’s eyes widened furiously, and he took a step closer, only to see Shouta’s eyes snap shut in pain; the blade was slowly slicing the skin at his throat, a small trickle of blood running down his neck and seeping into his dark tee shirt.

A small chuckle sounded from the floor in front of Shouta, and his captor slowly stood, brushed himself off, and gave a slow round of applause. Immediately, All Might had one of his guns trained on him, as did Midnight and Jean, but the man didn’t even seem afraid. Instead, he took a small step towards the much larger man, who instantly pulled the hammer of his revolver back, a cold glint in the ice blue eyes.

“All Might. It’s been a long time.” Those cold eyes burned into All Might’s blue ones, arms crossing in front of his chest, his face twisting into a smirk.

“All For One.” All Might’s voice was deep, cold and threatening, and Shouta was rather relieved he wasn’t speaking to him. He flicked his eyes in Shouta’s direction and he gave the younger man a tiny grin and an almost imperceptible wink. “I’ve come to get what belongs to me.” The man called All For One snickered, and took another step towards All Might, who quickly put his finger on the trigger of his gun. Slowly, All For One unbuttoned his suit jacket, folding back half of it, and retrieved a long double-sided, serrated, wicked-looking dagger from the inner pocket, twisting it gently in his hand, his eyes flicking up to All Might’s.

“Then take him from me. But be warned, All Might,” he said quietly as the bigger man strode menacingly toward him, “we’re not alone in here.” All For One lifted his hand and placed his thumb on his middle finger; Shouta’s eyes widened as he realized what he was preparing to do and desperately threw his head backwards as hard as he possibly could, colliding with Shigaraki’s forehead and nose, knocking him backwards with a loud curse, the blade slicing a shallow cut on the side of Shouta’s neck as it fell to the floor. The commotion got All Might’s attention and he turned to stare at Shouta, who frantically waved his hands, still handcuffed high above his head, and pointed to Hizashi, who hadn’t moved throughout the entire exchange. All Might followed where his finger was pointing, figuring out what Shouta was hinting at the same moment All For One snapped his fingers.

Everything happened so fast, and yet there was so much going on, Shouta’s tired eyes could hardly keep up. At the sound of the snap, Hizashi activated, reaching back for his gun, but Midnight was faster; she cracked her whip and Hizashi’s gun flew out of his hand, landing safely across the room. As he stood there staring blankly at his now empty hand, All For One reached in the pocket of his trousers and pulled up a strange looking device, pressing a button on the interface, then sliding the device back into his pocket; all at once, the undamaged monitors flicked off, extinguishing all of the light on that side of the room. Then, he snapped again.

Sudden movement had Shouta whipping his head around to stare at the moving forms, his dead friends and neighbors slowly rising from their chairs, a few jerking uncontrollably; their bodies had not been nearly as well preserved as Hizashi’s and Ochako’s, faces sunken in deeply, grayish flesh beginning to peel, emotionless eyes white and staring. It was an eerie sight, yet they moved toward the shocked group with surprising speed. Midnight screamed in shock and terror, her gun blazing towards the former humans; Orca and Jean looked at each other and shrugged indifferently, then jumped in, fists swinging and knocking the reanimated bodies back, Jean’s pistol pumping bullets through the rotting flesh.

All For One took advantage of the distraction and leaped at All Might, the blade in his hand slicing through the air, just barely missing his shoulder as he dodged at the very last second. He whipped his right hand around and fired off one shot, missing his attacker by mere inches as All For One lunged again, All Might backing up out of the path of the dagger once more. The two of them continued to circle each other, All Might definitely having the advantage of size and strength; however, All For One was smaller and quicker on his feet, twisting out of the way of every bullet that came flying at him, swinging the evil-looking blade at every turn.

Shouta watched the two of them dance around for several minutes, then turned his attention back to Midnight, Orca and Jean, quickly realizing that they were vastly outnumbered. No matter how many rounds Jean and Midnight fired off, the corpses would only stagger, then keep coming. He struggled in his bonds, hating how helpless he was; he wanted to fight, to help his friends, to stop this maniac from doing anymore damage and killing any more innocent people.

A snarl sounded beside him, and he turned to stare into Shigaraki’s furious eyes that had narrowed to slits, blood pouring from between his fingers that he held over his broken nose.

“I’m gonna kill you for that.” He growled, and punched Shouta’s already traumatized ribcage, his hand immediately flying back up to his face to slow the flow of blood spurting from his nose; Shouta gasped at the pain, tears unconsciously springing to his eyes, and he went nearly limp in his restraints.

Orca, for all of his fighting and beating back the army of the dead, just happened to glance over at Shouta’s gasping form, only to see Shigaraki, move around behind him and out of his line of sight, smoothly reaching down and picking up his knife that had fallen out of his hand when Shouta hit him. His eyes grew wide in panic.

  
“Midnight! Go help the kid!” Orca shouted as his fist sank deep into another corpse.

Midnight quickly turned, her whip already thrown back; then she flicked it forward, the end wrapping around Shigaraki’s raised wrist, poised to plunge the blade into Shouta’s shoulder. But instead of crying out and dropping the weapon like she was anticipating, Shigaraki winced, yet kept his hold tightly on the knife, slowly dragging the whip with him, an evil smirk on his face as he stared at Midnight. She struggled against him, using all her strength to keep that blade away from Shouta; she had one trick left up her sleeve, but she really didn’t want to use it on this knife happy henchman. Yet, he was starting to overpower her, and she smirked at Shigaraki, flicking the button hidden in the handle.

Immediately, powerful electric current ran through the length of her chain whip, rocketing through Shigaraki’s body with twice the force of a taser, his eyes rolling back, mouth open in a shocked, silent scream; yet, he stayed standing, jerking violently, the blade clattering harmlessly to the floor. Then, much to Midnight’s chagrin and regret, he collapsed forward, his shoulder making contact with Shouta’s back. Shouta’s eyes flew open as the current passed through him, his whole body tensing painfully, every hair on his body standing straight up; the scream that he let out was loud enough that All Might heard him from across the room, glancing over in time to see Shouta’s eyes roll back into his skull, head flopping forward, his body hanging completely limp.

“Midnight! DO SOMETHING!” All Might roared, sidestepping another slash from All For One, and fired off another bullet that missed his enemy’s neck by centimeters.

Midnight frantically clicked off her whip, tossing it aside as she rushed toward Shouta, taking his face in her hands and lightly shaking him, his body still twitching with aftershocks.

“Kid. Hey, come on kid, talk to me.” She said quietly, pressing her fingers to his pulse point. “Oh god, please don’t die on me.” She pleaded, desperately stroking his face, her hand quickly becoming covered in blood as she gently untied his gag. After a few tense seconds, Shouta coughed and ever so slowly opened his bloodshot eyes, staring groggily into her dark blue ones. She sighed with relief, then set about restraining the unconscious Shigaraki, pulling out a pair of handcuffs from somewhere in her tight shirt, hooking them around his wrists and locking them tightly, dragging his limp body away from Shouta and unceremoniously dumping him in a dark corner, planning how to dispose of him later. When she returned to Shouta just a moment later, he was slowly glancing around the room, his eyes still hazy from the electrical current. Finally, his onyx eyes locked on Orca and Jean and an idea dawned on him.

“Midnight.” He rasped, his voice weak and frighteningly strained; the last desperate scream had done some damage to his vocal chords. Midnight placed her ear right next to his lips to be able to hear him at all. “All For One uses brain control.” Her eyes flew open in shock, then quickly narrowed in understanding. “Tell Jean and Orca to try aiming for their heads. It may not work, but if we can damage the implants in their brains, we might be able to end this.” Shouta coughed again, this time turning his head to spit out a small mouthful of blood. “And if you wouldn’t mind, could you get me out of these handcuffs?” Midnight looked up at his hands, frowning as she realized she wasn’t tall enough to pull his restraints off the hook he was hung from; quickly she looked down at his feet and saw how they were connected to the floor, yanking a bobby pin from her long hair and kneeling, and within seconds Shouta’s feet were free. He had to stand on his toes to reach the floor, but even that was a huge relief off his shoulders.

“Sorry, kid, that’s the best I can do for now.” He nodded in understanding, grateful to her for everything she had done.

“Thanks Midnight. I appreciate it.” He gave her a super weak smile and she grinned back, turning to return to her comrades-in-arms, Shouta’s information at the forefront of her mind. She quickly relayed the message, and all three of them chose a zombie to test the theory out on. Orca smashed in the skull of what had once been a teenager, and the corpse collapsed immediately, not even so much as twitching.

“It worked.” Shouta breathed quietly, shoulders sagging in relief and the trio made quick work of the corpses. He turned his attention back to All Might and All For One; the bigger man had discarded one of his guns, his shirt and coat shredded into ribbons from all of his near misses from All For One’s blade, broad chest heaving from the effort of dodging the smaller man’s slashes. All For One glanced over at the three figures decimating his army of the dead, and he growled, furiously swiping at All Might’s arm, reaching into his pocket and pulling out that strange little device again, this time pressing a different button, a smirk twisting his features as he quickly stepped away from All Might, throwing the device across the floor.

Another explosion blew a hole in the wall nearest the three living fighters, the force of the blast knocking the stunned trio back through their original entrance, All Might throwing his arms over his face protectively, Shouta’s hair whipping wildly around his shoulders as he turned his head away.

But it was only a distraction.

All For One braced himself for the blast, launching at All Might the second he threw his arms up, his shoulder reared back preparing to plunge the blade wherever it made contact; Shouta saw him lunge and shouted out All Might’s name, desperately trying to protect the older man. All Might lowered his arms a split second too late; the wickedly serrated dagger buried itself in his lower left side, shredding his flesh, and slicing through whatever organs were in its path. All Might gasped in pain, staring down at the dagger’s hilt, All For One’s hand still clutching it tightly, a satisfied grin on his face; then, as All Might continued to stand there stunned, All For One gave the dagger a violent twist, slightly jerking it upwards. All Might’s eyes widened, and he let out an ear-piercing scream, reaching down and shoving All For One away from him, the smaller man cruelly yanking the dagger out of his victim, bright crimson blood spurting from the gaping wound.

“NO! ALL MIGHT!” Shouta screamed, as fresh tears sprang to his eyes at the sight of the older man, both hands clutched desperately against his side, blood pooling over his fingers, his face quickly becoming ashen, blue eyes squeezed tightly shut in pain, his chest quaking as he tried to take a deep breath. Slowly, he opened his eyes to stare into Shouta’s terrified face, as All For One stepped closer again, the scarlet blade dripping as he raised it over his head again.

“This is where it ends, All Might.” All For One said slowly, as the larger man dropped to one knee, one hand clutching his heaving chest, breath coming in short gasps; his vision was hazy as his eyes roved upwards to stare at the blade hanging over his head, before looking past his nemesis at the man he had come to rescue, the man who had stolen his heart. Shouta’s wild dark hair was dangling around his shoulders in tangles, the cut under his eye oozing blood down his handsome face leaving it dripping off his jaw as it mingled with the tears running in rivets down his cheeks; his obsidian bloodshot eyes stared frantically into All Might’s glazed blue ones and All Might gasped again, his resolve clearing: he would rescue Shouta even if it killed him to do so.

All For One grinned and gave a victorious howl as he plunged the blade downward, knowing his enemy would be no more in a matter of minutes. What he didn’t expect was the sudden firm grip on his wrist and he looked down, startled, into All Might’s shadowed blue eyes, his face tight with pain, but a grin on his lips, nonetheless. All Might stood, still clutching All For One’s arm and jerked the dagger out of his hands, hurling it across the room where it landed harmlessly among the debris, blood gushing from his wound as he moved his other hand away, curling it into a fist and sinking it deeply into All For One’s abdomen. The force knocked all of the air out of All For One’s lungs, as he was launched backwards towards Shouta, who had a sudden idea, and reached up to clasp the chain that linked the handcuffs together, putting all his weight in his hands. As All For One stopped his backwards slide, he bent over nearly double trying desperately to take a breath, and Shouta saw his chance. Quickly, he curled his legs into his chest, grunting slightly at the pull on his shoulders again, and kicked All For One’s back with all his might, sending the wheezing man stumbling forward back toward All Might, who was ready with a smashing uppercut to the smaller man’s chin; All Might was fairly certain he heard his jaw snap as he flew backward to land heavily on the floor, his body limp.

Pain coursed through All Might’s body as he took a slow step forward, staring at the body of his unconscious enemy, and a violent cough racked his chest, the metallic taste of blood rising in the back of his throat. Taking a weak, shuddering breath, he slowly made his way over to Shouta, his left hand clutching his wound, blood still pouring through his fingers. Shouta stared at him, the man who had risked his life to rescue him, the gorgeous man he had fallen head over heels for, now walking towards him, bloody and exhausted, his ashen face still carrying a gentle smile, blue eyes determined. A few steps later, All Might stood before the younger man, softly leaning down to press his forehead to Shouta’s, their noses brushing together, as he sighed and let his eyes fall closed.

“Hey kid.”

Shouta bit back a sob as he stared up into All Might’s calm, pale face; god, he loved this man, and he wanted nothing more than to sooth his pain away, but he knew that time wouldn’t come for a while. He knew if he didn’t do something now, it truly might be too late, and he would regret it for the rest of his life. So, he closed his eyes, pressing his forehead harder against the older man’s, lightly turning his head, and ghosted their lips together, immediately pulling away; it was the faintest brush, just enough to cause All Might’s eyes to fly open, to stare down into the deep onyx irises, a gentle blush creeping up Shouta’s neck, painting his cheeks rosy pink.

“Hey yourself, old man.”

All Might chuckled, wincing as he felt blood rush over his tongue, and he turned his head away and spit out a mouthful of the thick coppery-tasting substance. Slowly easing away from Shouta, he reached up and grasped the handcuffs with both hands, grunting as he lifted the younger man off the hook he had been restrained to, and gently settled him on the ground, biting his lip at the unbearable pain in his side, as he slowly dropped to his knees. Shouta jumped behind All Might, catching him as he started to fall backward, his hands still awkwardly hooked together, cradling the older man’s head on his lap, wincing at the pain still throbbing through his ribcage.

“I-I think I’ve got a handcuff key in my p-pocket, kid.” All Might rasped weakly, the blood loss finally taking its toll, a tiny bead of the scarlet liquid making its way out of the corner of his mouth and slowly sliding down his chin. Shouta nodded, fresh tears springing to the corners of his eyes, as he reached into the older man’s left pocket, reaching around a small pistol, pulling out a tiny key, and the fragment of his scarf. Quickly unlocking his restraints, he gently pressed the small piece of cloth to All Might’s open wound, the once grey material quickly becoming soaked through with scarlet. Shouta stared down into All Might’s hazy blue eyes.

“We’ve got to get you to a hospital, old man. You’re losing too much blood.”

All Might reached a trembling hand up to the younger man’s concerned, bloody face, and Shouta leaned gently into his touch.

“T-Toshinori.”

Shouta’s eyes widened, his hand coming up to his cheek to rest on top of All Might’s long fingers.

“Huh?” he whispered, not sure he’d heard the older man correctly. All Might grinned, before wincing as a spasm ran through his side, a small pool of blood collecting on the floor below his wound.

“Toshinori. That’s my name. Toshinori Yagi.” He weakly smirked up at Shouta’s shocked expression. “Now you can stop calling me old man.”

Shouta chuckled at the familiar words, closing his eyes in what could be called true happiness. He turned his face slightly to place a gentle kiss to the inside of Toshinori’s palm.

“It’s truly a pleasure to meet you, Toshinori Yagi.”

The older man weakly smiled up at him, his breathing becoming labored, another cough bringing warm sticky blood into the back of his throat again. Shouta quickly ripped off the bottom half of his tee shirt and gently wiped Toshinori’s lips, cleaning up the blood that had spattered out.

A small noise came from behind him, and Shouta whipped his head around, his eyes widening in fear as he saw Hizashi step towards him out of the shadows; but he held no weapon, he just stood there, staring blankly. Shouta couldn’t help but stare back at his best friend, emotions welling up inside him; he missed him so much, the talking, the laughing, the way they always had each other’s backs. Then, behind him, Shouta saw All For One begin to move, slowly trying to raise himself up on his arms. And an idea popped into Shouta’s head.

“I’m sorry Hizashi.” He whispered, as tears tugged at the corner of his eyes. “Please have my back one last time.”

Slowly, raising his hand, he snapped his fingers.

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, slowly, Hizashi took a step toward Shouta, coming to stand by his side, where he always had been before he died. Quickly, Shouta dug back into Toshinori’s left pocket again, much to the older man’s surprise, pulling out the small pistol, and offering it to Hizashi. His former best friend just stared at him, then reached out and took the gun, letting his arm drop to his side.

“S-Shouta, w-what are you doing?” Toshinori whispered thickly, his blue eyes quickly losing their light. Shouta looked down at him and gave him a small smile as he gently pulled himself out from underneath his head and shoulders, propping him up against the chair that Shouta had been resting against. Painfully ripping off his torn tee shirt, he pressed it to the older man’s wound, bringing forth a pained moan from Toshinori’s lips, a moan that Shouta boldly swallowed as he pressed his lips against the older man’s again. It lasted only a second before Shouta pulled away and stood up.

“You stay put and you stay awake, old man.” He smirked down at Toshinori’s wide blue eyes, a slight bit of color rushing back to his ashen face. “I’m finishing this. Once and for all.” The smirk disappeared as a determined look flashed across his face, his dark eyes growing icy, hands clenched into tight fists at his sides, his ribcage dotted with purplish bruises, as he took his place next to Hizashi.

And Toshinori had never seen a more beautiful sight.

As the enemy finally stood to his feet, Shouta stepped forward, Hizashi following closely behind him; All For One’s bleary eyes widened at the sight before him, and he stretched his hand towards his pocket, fully intending to pull out the gun he kept hidden there. But Shouta snapped, Hizashi pulling up the gun he had been holding, and shot All For One clean through the back of his hand, causing him to scream in pain and use his good hand to tightly grip his injured one, blood pouring forth between his fingers. Shouta stared coldly at the injured older man, as he strode towards him, pulling his fist back and hitting All For One squarely in the side of his already cracked jaw, knocking the villain off balance as he stumbled backward.

“That was for my friends and neighbors.”

He gripped the older man by the front of his suit jacket with his left hand, and hit him again, this time in his already aching abdomen, knocking the wind out of him, and leaving him gasping painfully for breath.

“That was for Ochako.”

Shouta shoved All For One away, his pain-wracked body falling heavily to the floor, as he stared up at Shouta with wide, almost frightened eyes, as the younger man stepped forward, placing one of his boots on his heaving chest; the other foot stamped down powerfully on All For One’s lower leg, snapping the bone clean in half, and he let out a pain filled scream. Shouta smirked down at him, almost satisfied.

“That was for Hizashi.”

Then he snapped his fingers, and his friend stepped forward, aiming his gun at the fallen, broken criminal’s forehead. Shouta lifted his foot off of All For One’s chest, moving around to kneel next to his head, leaning his lips close to his ear, his voice low and terrifying.

“And this is for Toshinori, you fucking bastard.”

And he snapped once.

Hizashi jerked the gun slightly lower, and pulled the trigger, the bullet tearing through the center of All For One’s chest, blowing a small hole directly through his sternum and missing his heart by centimeters, a fountain of crimson immediately spurting out, as the older man screamed again. Shouta stood, staring coldly down at All For One’s twisted face, blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes furious as he writhed in pain. Shouta turned and walked back towards Toshinori, Hizashi following along behind him, hearing the villain’s cries and moans growing fainter. And, suddenly, Shouta felt very tired, his eyes growing hazy as his steps grew staggered and he collapsed gratefully next to the man he loved.

Toshinori slowly turned his head and looked at the younger man, his blue eyes drooping closed.

“I-Is he…” he whispered weakly, his head lolling to the side against Shouta’s aching chest.

“If he’s not, he will be soon.” He whispered back, turning his head to glance at Toshinori, his eyes flying open as he realized the older man’s chest had stopped moving and his hand was slowly slipping off his wound that he had desperately clutched Shouta’s shirt to. “Toshinori?” He whispered fearfully, but there was no response.

Exhaustion chased from his mind, Shouta immediately crawled down to straddle the older man’s narrow hips and leaned his head down to Toshinori’s broad chest: he heard nothing, there wasn’t a heartbeat. “Oh, FUCK no, I’m NOT losing you now.” Shouta shouted, clasping his right hand over the back of his flattened left hand, and pressing it to the center of Toshinori’s chest, pushing down hard. He kept up the chest compressions for a few seconds, then leaning down to listen to his chest again: still nothing. “Come on, old man. You can’t die on me now.” He growled, desperately continuing the chest compressions, all of his focus on the man before him, tears streaking down his cheeks.

He didn’t even hear when the police stormed in, nor when the paramedics arrived a few minutes later. As one of the rescuers tried to pull him off of Toshinori, Shouta swung hard, his fist making contact with the paramedic’s cheek. A few officers saw him hit the paramedic, and jumped in, yanking him off of the older man, Shouta screaming and sobbing as they pulled him away, fighting them the entire time, until one of the officers grew desperate and hit him on the back of his neck, immediately knocking him unconscious, and loaded him up in the ambulance to take him to the hospital.

 

Shouta moaned as the darkness faded, throwing his arm up over his eyes, yelping at the pain shooting through his abdomen and the right side of his face. Quickly he opened his eyes, squinting at the bright white light overhead; he looked around, only to realize he had to be in a hospital, clean white walls surrounding him, the smell of antiseptic tickling his nose, an IV tube sticking out of his arm. Groaning, he lifted the sheets, staring down at the white gauze wrapped tightly around his torso, and reached a hand up to feel his newly stitched face.

The door opened and a man he had never seen before stepped inside, closing the door behind him softly, before turning around to glance at Shouta, a serious look in his eyes. Slowly, he pulled up a chair, and sat down, reaching into his pocket for a small notepad and a pen; finally, his eyes met Shouta’s.

“My name is Naomasa Tsukauchi, and I work for the police force as a detective. Can you tell me your name?” Shouta’s eyes widened, and he licked his lips nervously, before answering softly.

“Shouta Aizawa.” Naomasa nodded, writing it down in his notebook.

“What happened to you, Shouta? Were you kidnapped?” Shouta could only nod, lowering his eyes. He hated dealing with the police, since every time he’d ever had a run in with them, he was always the one at fault. He didn’t want to be blamed this time, not when he was completely innocent. Naomasa nodded, making another note, then looked up at the young man who was nervously twisting his hands, and he let a small smile slip through his stern demeanor, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Shouta’s shoulder. Shouta gasped and jerked away slightly at his touch. “It’s ok, Shouta. I’m not here to hurt you, and you’re not in any trouble. I just need to know what happened so I can put it in my paperwork.” The raven-haired young man let out a shaky sigh, visibly relaxed, and raised his dark eyes again to look at the detective.

“I was kidnapped, by a man called All For One.” Naomasa’s eyes shot open as he stared into Shouta’s onyx eyes.

“Did you just say All For One?” Shouta nodded.

“He kidnapped me to force me to kill someone who betrayed him.” The young detective’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

“Why you?” Shouta knew he couldn’t tell him about All For One’s relationship with Toshinori, so he told him the story, leaving out Toshinori’s involement.

“It wasn’t just me. He had killed my best friend a little while earlier and I guess he wanted to make sure I didn’t blab to you guys who did it.” His voice dropped as he thought back to Hizashi, wondering what had happened to him after the police arrived, and he took a deep breath. “All For One was using the bodies of my neighbors and friends as Guinea pigs, experimenting on their brains.” He gave Naomasa a tiny smirk. “I’m sure your men saw all the decomposing bodies in that building.” The detective wrinkled his nose in obvious disgust.

“Yeah, they called me the moment they realized that those people were long dead.” His voice grew serious. “Someone came to rescue you though, didn’t they?” Shouta gulped and nodded again.

“Yeah. Three of my friends and my…” he paused, then took a deep breath, “my boyfriend. They came to save me once they realized I had gone missing.”

“How did they know where to look?” Shouta shrugged.

“No idea. I suppose they just guessed and got lucky.” Naomasa’s eyes narrowed again, a frown crossing his features.

“That doesn’t really add up. Are you sure you don’t know how they found you?” Shouta shook his head.

“I swear I don’t know. All I know is I was knocked out as I was leaving work, woke up handcuffed and gagged in some office building, and All For One told me his story before he was going to kill me. Then my boyfriend showed up and fought him off, rescuing me. But he was seriously injured.” Shouta’s eyes widened as he realized he had no idea what had happened to Toshinori and he glanced frantically over at Naomasa. “Is my boyfriend…” he trailed off, his eyes filling with desperate tears, as the detective shook his head.

“I believe he’s still in surgery.” He leaned forward. “Can you tell me his name? We couldn’t find any identification on him.” Shouta sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

“His name is Toshinori Yagi.”

“What does he do?” Shouta closed his eyes, the answer flowing naturally off his tongue.

“He teaches martial arts to the neighborhood kids.” Naomasa nodded, seemingly satisfied, as he stood, moving his chair back to its original spot.

“Thank you for your time, Shouta. I’m sure we’ll be in touch soon.” Shouta grabbed his arm as he turned to leave.

“Is Toshinori going to be all right?”

The detective let out a breath.

“I’m not sure. No one’s come out to update us on either one.” Shouta’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

“There’s more than one person in surgery?” Naomasa nodded.

“The man you were giving CPR to, and another man who had a severe gunshot wound to his chest as well as a broken leg.” Shouta’s eyes flew open and he gasped.

“The other man, the one with the gunshot wound, that’s All For One!” Naomasa whipped his head around to stare at Shouta.

“Are you positive?” The young man nodded vigoriously.

“I’m sure. He was the one who kidnapped me and killed my friends.” With that statement, Naomasa ripped his arm away from Shouta and took off, flinging the door open.

“I’ve got to get officers stationed around his room immediately then.” The young detective smiled at Shouta. “Thank you. You’ve done this city a great service by identifying the most feared mob boss in the country.” Shouta smiled, relieved as the detective practically flew out the door, slamming it behind him.

“Now, I’ve gotta get out of this bed and find Toshinori.” Shouta muttered to himself as he pushed the button on the bed to call the nurse.

 

An hour later, Shouta found himself discharged and pacing the hallway outside the OR where Toshinori was undergoing extensive surgery to repair the shredded organs All For One had sliced wide open. Every few minutes he would stop and stare at the clock hanging on the wall at the end of the hallway before taking up his nervous pacing again. He continued that routine for nearly forty-five minutes until a gentle hand on his shoulder whipped him around.

Midnight stood there, wearing a pair of white skinny jeans tucked into soft black leather ankle boots; a long black trench coat covered her shoulders, left open to reveal a simple grey tank top, her long hair tied up in a ponytail, and a short line of stitches running vertically through her left eyebrow. She held out a disposable coffee cup to the nervous young man, who hesitated, then gratefully took it, taking a small sip and sinking down into a chair leaned against the wall. Midnight sat down next to him, sipping on her own coffee; neither one spoke for a few minutes, the lovely woman the first to break the silence.

“Have you heard anything yet?” Shouta shook his head slowly.

“No one’s come out and he’s apparently been in there for four hours.” Slowly, he turned his head to look at Midnight, his dark eyes filling with tears that he blinked back. “I’m so scared, Midnight.” His voice shook as he lowered his head, long tangled hair falling into his face. Midnight set down her coffee and gently wrapped her arms around the younger man, his tears finally falling free into her shoulder, his shoulders heaving as he cried. They sat like that for several long minutes, Midnight gently rubbing calming circles on his back, until Shouta’s sobs quieted; Midnight pulled back first, curling her long delicate fingers under the young man’s chin, raising his face to look directly into hers, gently wiping his remaining tears away with her other hand. Finally, she sat back and took a long drink of her now cool coffee, Shouta following suit.

“My name is Nemuri Kayama.” She said quietly. Shouta finally grinned, offering her his hand, which she accepted gracefully.

“Shouta Aizawa. Nice to meet you Nemuri.” She gave him a small smile, her eyebrows creasing a moment later.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” She spoke up softly, gently tracing the stitches on his cheek. “We were afraid they had done more damage to you than you were letting on.” Shouta shook his head, slightly lifting the hem of his tee shirt, exposing his wrapped ribcage, and Nemuri gasped.

“Three broken ribs, two cracked, both kidneys bruised, a small neck laceration that they glued shut, and fourteen stitches on my face. Doctor said I’ll live.” He grinned at her again, making her roll her eyes. Then his eyes went serious. “What happened to Orca and Jean?”

“When that last explosion went off, we were all blown through the original hole in the wall that we had made. Since I was closest to the blast, I got most of the force from it, but I landed on Orca, who broke my fall.” A tiny smirk crossed her face. “However, Orca landed on Jean, breaking one of his legs in the impact. He’ll be fine, he’s just super annoyed at having to wear a cast. He said it won’t go with his wardrobe at home.” Shouta chuckled quietly, imagining the fuss the small man was putting up, then gently reaching over and taking one of her hands in his, startling her.

“I never thanked you all for coming to rescue me. If it wasn’t for you guys, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here with you.” Shouta said quietly, squeezing her hand, and Nemuri squeezed back.

“Well, you’re part of our family now, and families protect each other. It’s what we do.” She stood up, gently letting go of Shouta’s hand, turning to face him, her blue eyes warm. “I’ve got to get going to check in with Jean and Orca, but I’ll come back a little later if you want.” Shouta nodded gratefully.

“I’d like that. And please tell them how grateful I am to them.” Nemuri nodded, reaching out and gently placing her hand on Shouta’s tangled hair, before turning and walking away down the long hallway, leaving Shouta to his own thoughts once again as he stared at the clock on the wall.

 

It was another hour before the OR door opened, to reveal a tall male doctor and a shorter female nurse, speaking in hushed tones, their faces tense; Shouta sat there, dazed, listening as best as he could. He could barely hear the nurse speaking.

“…lost too much…we don’t have enough…live donor.” Was all Shouta heard, before he was out of his chair, slowly making his way over to the concerned medical staff. The nurse started at his approach, the doctor looking at him with exhausted eyes.

“Is there something we can help you with?” the young doctor asked quietly, rubbing his tired eyes. The nurse clutched her clipboard closer to her chest. Shouta spoke quietly.

“The patient you were just referring to, was it Toshinori Yagi?” The doctor stared back at him, confused, as the nurse checked over her paperwork. “He had a serious stab wound to his left side.” Finally, the doctor relaxed a bit, looking over the young man standing before him.

“Yes, he’s the one we just operated on. It was a hell of a time getting him back, considering he was dead on arrival, and he flatlined two more times on the table. But we managed to get a steady heartbeat going.” Shouta breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. “We believe the surgery was a success, however we won’t know for certain until he comes around and can breathe on his own. We had to remove his left lung, a good portion of his small intestine, and his stomach. But I’m afraid he won’t make it. He lost too much blood before paramedics got him here.” Shouta’s dark eyes widened as he took a staggering step back. The doctor rubbed his eyes again. “He has the most uncommon blood type, and the hospital doesn’t have enough blood of his type stored away; our only two options are to find a matching blood donor to do a live transfusion, which isn’t likely in the amount of time we have,” the doctor’s voice softened as he glimpsed Shouta’s teary expression, “or we just hang on to the hope that he can survive on what he’s got left.” Shouta clenched his fist, eyes staring down at his feet, his voice shaking.

“What blood type is he?”

The doctor’s eyes widened, and the nurse frantically flipped through her clipboard again, finally finding the information she was searching for, her voice quiet as she spoke.

“His blood type is O-. That means he can only receive O- blood.” Shouta nodded, raising his head with a smile on his face.

“I’m type O-. I’ll be your live donor.”


	6. Blood and Chocolate

The doctor stared at Shouta, his tired eyes wide.

“Are you certain you’re Type O-?” Shouta nodded vigorously.

“I used to donate blood every few months. I’m positive of what type I am.”

The young nurse looked him over carefully, observing his stiches and his obviously pained stance, her concerned eyes flicking over to the doctor, who crossed his arms over his chest.

“How much blood did you lose before you got here?”

“Not nearly enough to matter.” Shouta’s voice dropped into almost a growl, his hands clenching into fists at his side. He knew they were just doing their job, but Toshinori was in a life or death situation, and the questions were only draining precious time. “If it will save his life, you can take all the blood you need. I’m not worried about side effects on my end,” Shouta stared pleadingly into the doctor’s exhausted eyes, “just please, save him.” The doctor sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, before turning to speak to the nurse.

“All right. We’ll get set up for an emergency direct transfusion.” The nurse nodded, quickly turning and rushing off, while the doctor sighed, and opened the door to the OR. “It’ll take a few minutes to get everything ready.” His voice softened as he noted the exhaustion and concern in Shouta’s dark eyes. “You can wait with him if you like.” Immediately, Shouta perked up, a small smile tugging at his lips as the doctor motioned him through the door.

Once he entered the OR, Shouta’s breath caught as he laid eyes on Toshinori. The older man lay still, his chest barely rising with each breath, an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose. He was completely surrounded by blinking, beeping monitors; an IV pole stood near his head, several bags half-full of clear solution slowly dripped into the thin tube attached to the back of his hand. His bare torso was completely covered in white medical gauze, splotches of red bleeding through in some spots, dying the wrappings light crimson.

Shouta stood in the doorway for what seemed a long time, before finally shuffling toward the bed, his heart pounding in his chest as he stared down into Toshinori’s pale face, those bright blue eyes softly closed. Gently, Shouta lifted the older man’s left hand, intertwining Toshinori’s long graceful fingers with his own, softly brushing the wild mane of blond hair away from his forehead; then, he leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Toshinori’s brow, a single tear slipping out of his eyes, his voice raspy.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, old man. But no matter what, I’ll save you.” He heard a small commotion in the hallway outside the door, and he pressed his forehead against Toshinori’s, his eyes slipping closed. “I’m giving you my blood, sweetheart. So, you'd better come back to me. Please.” The door opened, revealing the same doctor and nurse, the young woman carrying a small roll of thin tubing. Shouta lightly kissed Toshinori’s forehead once more, before turning to the doctor. “What do you need me to do?” The doctor gently motioned to a chair sitting near Toshinori’s bedside, while the nurse busied herself pulling apart the tubing.

“I’ll need you to sit down for me.” Quickly pulling on a pair of latex gloves, he looked over at Shouta with a slight frown. “Is there an arm you prefer we pull from?” Shouta looked down at his forearms, flexing slightly, seeing the bluish veins rise to the surface below his skin.

“My right arm would probably be best.” The doctor nodded, and Shouta pulled up the chair, turning his head to look over at Toshinori once more, gently clasping his hand as the nurse rubbed iodine in the crook of his arm, following swiftly with Toshinori’s. Shouta bit his lip lightly as the doctor inserted a thick needle into the bulging vein pulsing on the underside of his elbow, turning to look as the thick scarlet stream began its journey toward the still man lying on the bed. Only once the flow of blood nearly reached the end of the tube did the doctor insert a needle into Toshinori’s thin vein, and Shouta watched as a part of himself seeped into the man he loved. The doctor nodded, and left the room, leaving the nurse to watch over them, her attention focused on Toshinori’s vitals flashing across the monitor’s screen. Carefully, so as to not pull the needle out of his arm, Shouta turned in his chair so that he was facing Toshinori, dark eyes never leaving his face, as he gently squeezed his limp, frail hand. A relieved sigh escaped his chapped lips as the creases in Toshinori’s brow slowly softened, a small sign that the large man was relaxing in his deep sleep.

After what seemed a long time, the nurse came around and checked his pulse, concern reaching her eyes as she looked up into Shouta’s onyx eyes, dim and drooping from sheer exhaustion. Quickly she reached up, placing two fingers on his pulse point on the side of his neck, feeling his heartbeat slowing rapidly. Immediately she pressed an emergency call button on the wall behind Shouta’s head, as the younger man’s eyes rolled back, and he slid out of his chair onto the floor unconscious.

****

Shouta woke up with a sharp gasp, sitting straight up in the hospital bed, his hands immediately flying up to cradle his throbbing head as Nemuri jumped up from her chair to ease him back down against the pillows, his hands finding hers and squeezing tightly in pain. Shouta’s hazy eyes finally cleared enough to make out her face, hovering slightly above his own.

“Nemuri?” he slurred, voice still thick with sleep. She nodded, clasping his hands over his heaving chest. His eyes slowly roved around the hospital room, searching for something before coming back to rest on the lady’s blue eyes. “Where’s Toshinori?” A small grin slid over her lips as she reached behind her and pulled aside a white curtain that Shouta had failed to notice, revealing the man himself, still asleep, his chest steadily rising and falling with the aid of the oxygen mask. Shouta whimpered softly in relief, closing his eyes; Nemuri gently ran her fingers through the young man’s mass of tangled dark hair, her voice soft.

“His chances of survival are much higher now, thanks to you.” Her eyes misted as she glanced back at Toshinori. “You saved him. Thank you.” Then her eyes narrowed, and she reached her hand back, lightly swatting his shoulder; Shouta’s eyes shot open in surprise as he groaned, his head throbbing painfully.

“What was that for?”

“You neglected to tell the medical staff you hadn’t eaten in a while. You passed out from lack of nutrition and rest.” She rubbed her temple with a sigh. “Idiot.” Shouta chuckled softly.

“I wasn’t thinking about me.”

“Naturally.”

Someone knocked on the door, and it cracked open without waiting for a response. Orca shyly peeked around the door, a broad grin sliding across his face as he saw that Shouta was awake. Shouta grinned back, waving the burly man in, and Orca scampered across the room, grasping Shouta’s hand as he reached his bedside. Shouta winced as he noticed the long line of stitches running horizontally through his right temple, stopping just short of his eye, and the bandage wrapped tightly around his left forearm.

“I’m so glad to see you’re ok, kid. We were super worried about you.” His deep voice rumbled through Shouta’s core as he squeezed Orca’s large hand.

“I’m sorry I made you worry big guy.” Shouta’s eyes softened. “And you can call me Shouta.” Nemuri chuckled at Orca’s surprised expression and shook her head, as the bigger man twisted his hand until he was holding Shouta’s hand as if he was going to shake it.

“And my name is Kuugo Sakamata. You can call me Kuugo if you like.” The younger man gratefully shook his hand. Nemuri lightly cleared her throat.

“Ok boys, I think it’s time we let the patient rest.” Kuugo’s face fell and Nemuri gently laid her hand on his uninjured arm. “Kuugo, why don’t you sit outside in the hallway and relax for a while? I’ll go check on Jean.” The big man nodded, tightening his grip on Shouta’s hand.

“If you need anything, I’ll be right outside. No one gets in that isn’t medical staff.” Shouta nodded, his eyes nearly falling closed again at the sense of security, and Kuugo gave him a little grin, winking as he turned away, flicking the rooms bright overhead lights off as he passed by, Shouta sighing thankfully. Nemuri sighed, standing up, leaning over the bed to place a gentle kiss to Shouta’s forehead.

“Get some rest, kid. I’ll be back in a little while.” Shouta nodded again, sleep overtaking him before she could shut the door behind her.

 

Shouta awoke a while later to a small noise. His eyes flew open, noting the dimness of the room, moonlight beaming across the floor, and highlighting a scrub-clad figure bent over Toshinori’s still form, a hypodermic needle shining brightly in the moonlight. Before Shouta could even think, he was out of his bed, painfully ripping his IV line out of his arm and tackled the person to the floor with a grunt, his broken ribs protesting the activity. The other person immediately fought back, the sanitary mask hiding his face slipping off in the scuffle, a familiar pair of eyes glaring up at Shouta; the young man’s jaw dropped in shock, his eyes narrowed, and he pulled his fist back, hitting the man square in the face. The other man threw his hands up, scratching Shouta’s bare arms, his legs kicking frantically, until Shouta desperately flipped him over, pinning his arms against his back.

“Kuugo! Nemuri! Get in here!” Shouta screamed, settling his weight on the thrashing man’s thighs, hands holding his arms firmly in place, a small trickle of blood streaking down his arm and seeping into the back of the man’s blue scrub shirt, dying it an eerie violet color. The door banged open, Kuugo standing in the doorway, the light from the hallway illuminating the other man’s face and the big man caught his breath; Nemuri appeared beside him barely a second later, her eyes falling to his face and she gasped.

“You! How the hell did you escape?” She growled, whipping a pair of handcuffs out of her coat pocket, and kneeling at Shouta’s side. Kuugo stepped back into the hallway, rushing away, calling for a nurse and an officer.

Shigaraki snarled up at Shouta and Nemuri from his position on the floor, eyeing the syringe just out of reach. Nemuri followed his line of sight, pulling herself away to slip on a pair of latex gloves from the bin by Toshinori’s bedside, and gingerly picked up the needle, a deep frown marring her delicate features.

At that moment, the overhead lights flashed on, revealing a shocked Naomasa and a tiny woman with a cane standing in the doorway. Shouta glanced up curiously at the ancient woman before him; he had never seen her before, her fluff of silver hair pulled tightly into a knot at the top of her head, wrinkles adorned her face, but her eyes were bright, quickly taking in the scene before her. Shigaraki, now cuffed and still pinned under Shouta’s weight, stared up at the police officer, defiance flashing in his eyes. No words were spoken as the little woman stepped forward, stretching her cane out and pointing the tip under Shigaraki’s chin, pulling his face up until his eyes followed to stare at her.

“What’s in that syringe?” she asked, her voice harsh and unwavering. Shouta winced at the tone in her voice, and she wasn’t even talking to him. Shigaraki pointedly looked away, clamping his lips tightly shut. She clicked her tongue, and dropped his chin, her cane clicking on the floor as she turned and stepped back towards Naomasa. Her back still to Shigaraki, she held out her hand towards Nemuri, who meekly handed over the needle; apparently, this woman had shocked even the bold and terrifying Midnight into absolute obedience. She looked down at the syringe in her tiny frail hand, examining the glass vial, twisting it so the thick clear liquid inside sloshed around, streaking up and down the sides of the thin cylinder. The room was strangely silent as she did this, until she thumped her cane on the floor, moving out the door, Naomasa quickly stepping out of her way. Her voice floated out behind her, sounding almost cheerful. “Officer Tsukauchi, take that young man into custody for attempted murder.” Shouta stared out, shock written all over his face as he risked a glance down at Shigaraki, whose face was pulled into an expressionless mask, his eyes flashing furiously.

The young officer hesitantly stepped forward, grasping Shigaraki under one of his arms, as Shouta slid off his thighs onto the cold floor, Kuugo stepping behind him; Shouta gratefully leaned back against his sturdy legs, exhausted. Nemuri stepped forward and gripped Shigaraki under his other arm, and together they jerked him off the floor to his feet, his hands restrained against his lower back. Naomasa stepped behind him as Nemuri kept her tight hold on his arm.

“I’m going to do a quick search. Do you have anything in your pockets that might injure me?” Naomasa asked quietly, his voice lowered to almost a growl. Shigaraki didn’t respond, just lifted his chin in defiance. Naomasa shook his head and began patting the younger man down; he felt nothing out of the ordinary in his shirt, but as he reached a pocket on his lower right leg, his hand brushed against something thin and cylindrical. Frowning, Naomasa reached in, his fingers brushing something cold, gasping as he pulled out another syringe; but this one was empty. The young detective stood and moved around to stand in front of Shigaraki, eyes narrowing as he stared at the barely concealed smirk on his face. He held up the needle in front of Shigaraki’s eyes. “What was in this?” No answer. Naomasa thrust the syringe closer, just under Shigaraki’s nose, his voice taking on a no-nonsense tone. “Who did you use it on?” Again, unsurprisingly, there was no answer, but Naomasa did see a flicker of nervousness in Shigaraki’s eyes. As Naomasa opened his mouth to ask another question, Shouta’s brain finally awakened, realization dawning in his dark eyes, as he jumped to his feet, his voice strained.

“All For One. When did anyone check on him last?” Naomasa turned to stare at Shouta, his mouth still hanging open, before his eyes grew wide and he turned and bolted out the door, leaving Nemuri holding tightly to Shigaraki. A soft cackle left the villain’s lips as he turned his glare to Shouta.

“You clever little bastard.” He attempted to jerk his arm away from Nemuri, who only tightened her grip, her long nails digging into his skin. Shouta gingerly crossed his arms over his bandaged chest, Kuugo gently placing his hands on the smaller man’s shoulders, holding him steady.

“It was the only logical answer. But why? Why poison your boss?” Shouta questioned, his eyes narrowing, that one missing answer playing out different situations in his mind. Shigaraki turned his head away, refusing to make eye contact with Shouta.

“Why the hell should I tell you?” Shouta took a step forward, and then another until he reached out, gripping the criminal’s chin with one hand, jerking his face until he was nose to nose with him, his voice deep and threatening.

“You don’t have to tell me anything, the police will get to the bottom of it eventually.” His eyes brightened with determination, and Shigaraki’s face visibly paled as he tried to take a step back, but Nemuri’s hold on him kept him firmly in place. Shouta smirked at him as he heard Kuugo turn and softly close the door. “But right now, you’re at our mercy.” He heard Kuugo pop his knuckles menacingly behind him and he saw Nemuri’s eyes flash angrily. Shouta tilted his chin up, a slow, almost evil grin sliding across his lips as he roughly released the other man’s face. Shigaraki swallowed, his confidence waning as the gravity of his situation encompassed his mind. For the first time in his life, the man felt fear.

“Ok ok, I’ll tell you.” Shouta nodded once and took a step back. “With All For One out of the way, I was going to take over the mob and do the things that he wouldn’t do. His brain control had so many promising capabilities, but he kept it quiet.” Shouta’s right eye closed halfway as he thought about all the possibilities Shigaraki would have to do even more vile and evil things that All For One never even thought of; it was a terrifying thought to be sure. Shouta nodded slowly, but Shigaraki apparently wasn’t done, the fear of the future eating away at him. “I had to kill All Might to keep him from stopping me.”

“I figured that one out on my own.” Shouta growled, and Shigaraki shrank back again, his confident air about him completely depleted; now he trembled like a terrified child.

“I’m sorry ok! I told you what you wanted to know. Please don’t hurt me!” he shrieked as he saw Kuugo take a step forward, making the smaller man wince away, snapping his eyes tightly shut; however, Kuugo smirked back at Shouta, only reaching out to grab Shigaraki’s other arm in a tight grip, causing him to cry out softly in fear. Nemuri finally spoke up, jerking Shigaraki toward the door.

“Thank you for your confession. I’m sure the police will be grateful for it.” Shigaraki’s eyes grew wide, his face shifting into a dark scowl.

“You mean you’re not going to let me go?” Shouta actually barked out a laugh as he turned to open the door, a smirk still lingering on his lips.

“Why the hell would we do that? You still poisoned All For One and you tried to kill All Might.” Shouta strode back up to Shigaraki, pulling his shoulder back and landing a perfect punch on his right cheek, his onyx eyes flashing dangerously. “And no one messes with the man I love. Got it?” Shigaraki whipped his head back around, eyes narrowed to slits, staring down Shouta. He opened his mouth to speak, but a commotion in the hallway silenced him. Nemuri and Kuugo stared out at the line of medical staff, rushing down the hallway, whispers of ‘code blue’ and ‘mysterious death’ echoing down the corridor. Shouta stuck his head out the door, spying Naomasa hurrying from the opposite direction, a scowl etched into his youthful features; his face hardened further as he spotted Shouta’s head of wild dark locks, and he quickened his pace.

“Shouta. Get inside. Now.” He hissed at the young man, pushing passed him into the room, his eyes cold as they stared at Shigaraki. Shouta shivered at his tone and shut the door behind the detective, who stood directly in front of the criminal, who had a meek, quiet look pasted on his face.

“Detective, I-“ Shigaraki blurted out, but Naomasa held up a hand to silence him.

“Save it.” The young officer rubbed his face with his hand, looking several years older than when he had rushed out of the room just a few minutes earlier, his tired eyes finally looking up to stare coldly at Shigaraki. “All For One’s dead. The doctors currently don’t know what happened, but after they complete an autopsy, they’ll know the exact poison you used. You’ll be going to jail for a long time.” He turned to Nemuri, who had kept her grip on him the entire time, his voice softening. “Did he confess anything?” She nodded.

“He admitted to attempting to kill Toshinori, and he told us his reasons behind it.” Naomasa nodded, turning his head to the door.

“Excellent job Officer Kayama.”

Shouta’s eyes nearly popped out of his head and Kuugo let out a sharp gasp, releasing Shigaraki’s arm, both men taking steps back, away from the young woman, who kept her face turned away from them, her eyes focused on the floor.

“You’re a police officer?” Shouta’s quiet question hung heavily in the air, and Nemuri bit her lip and nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Kuugo piped up, his voice cracking with emotion as he moved to stand behind Shouta. The lady’s shoulders drooped, her long ponytail swishing into her face, hiding her expression. Naomasa didn’t say anything, just gently looked over at the two shocked and betrayed expressions on their faces; he glanced over at Nemuri to see a single tear sliding down her face.

“I couldn’t. I’ve been undercover, trying to catch All For One. All Might, I mean Toshinori, he knew, and he accepted me, knowing I was just doing my job. Naomasa knows what kinds of stuff we’ve done, but he’s promised not to reveal it. As far as the division knows, I’m just spying on All For One, keeping a low profile to avoid being found out. They don’t know anything about you guys, or why Toshinori has been doing what he has.” Slowly turning her head, her eyes caught Shouta’s, complete sincerity glistening in them. “I never wanted you find out like this. I never even thought about betraying you.” Her eyes were swimming with tears now, and Shouta felt Kuugo let out a deep sigh behind him, a tiny sniffle reaching his ears. “I love you guys; we’re a family, and I’d never let anything happen to my family.” Naomasa gently reached around Shigaraki, who rolled his eyes and huffed out a sigh, to gently place his hand over Nemuri’s, a small smile making its way across his face. He looked over at Shouta and Kuugo.

“I promised to never say anything about your activities. I know what All Might is doing is for a good reason.” He sighed quietly. “I know guns are illegal, but I believe our citizens ought to be able to protect themselves.” Shouta’s eyes narrowed. He actually didn’t know the reason Toshinori had been smuggling guns, or where they were going. His curiosity piqued, he turned to Naomasa.

“Why has he been bringing in guns?” Nemuri’s eyebrows shot up.

“He hasn’t told you?” Shouta shook his head.

“Never really got the chance to ask.” Nemuri’s eyes lit up.

“Then ask him when he wakes up. It’s a good story and a very good reason for him to do something so illegal.” Shouta thought for a moment, then nodded his head.

“I’ll do that, Officer.” He jabbed, but his voice carried a hint of mirth, and Nemuri smiled, wiping her tears away with her free hand. Kuugo brushed passed Shouta, holding out his arms, and Nemuri released Shigaraki to dive into his chest, his big burly arms wrapping around her thin frame, holding her tightly against him.

“Get him out of here.” He said, staring down at Shigaraki, who flinched again. “Then make sure you come back to us. We still need you.” Nemuri nodded, her eyes shining as she reached up to place a gentle kiss to Kuugo’s cheek.

“No worries big guy. I’ll be back.” She pulled away and turned back to Naomasa, who nodded firmly. She retook her hold on Shigaraki, and they made their way to the door. She paused beside Shouta, reached out her hand and patted him gently on the head. “Take care of Toshinori for me.” She said softly. “He loves you, you know.” With that, the two police officers whisked their criminal out the door, leaving Kuugo sniffling again and a bright pink blush painted on Shouta’s cheeks.

 

A few hours later, Shouta relaxed in his hospital bed, flipping through a book Kuugo had bought for him at a bookstore across the street, winking as he left to look after Jean for a while. After all the commotion with Shigaraki, a nurse had come into the room to find Shouta out of bed and without his IV, and promptly scolded him, sticking the needle back into his arm and strong armed him back into bed. Shouta didn’t argue.

Every now and then, he would glance over at Toshinori, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest, supremely thankful that he had a promising recovery ahead of him.  
A soft knock sounded at the door, then it creaked open softly, revealing the tiny old woman from before. She thumped her way over to Shouta’s bed, nodding, pleased that he was resting at least. Shouta swallowed nervously as she spoke.

“I’m Chiyo Shuzenji. I’ve been a physician for longer than you’ve been alive, young man.” Her voice was soft, nearly putting Shouta at ease as he relaxed against his pillows, placing his open book face-down on his chest. She lifted her cane, pointing at Toshinori’s sleeping form, her bright eyes still staring down Shouta. “I’ve looked out for him for many years, as well as other members of the mob, but this is his most serious injury yet.” She rested both wrinkled hands on the handle of her cane as she brought the tip back to the floor, looking up into Shouta’s dark eyes. “You saved his life. For that, you deserve my thanks.” She bent over into a small bow and Shouta’s eyes widened, waving both hands frantically in front of him.

“Please, don’t bow to me, I didn’t do anything special. I just have the same blood type he does.” Her head raised just enough for her eyes to flick up and look at him.

“It wasn’t just your blood. The chest compressions you administered kept him far enough from death that we were able to save him.” Her eyes roved over his face, taking in the sharp unshaven jawline, tired bloodshot eyes, the stiches covering what would be a new scar under his eye, and the long, tangled locks that dropped limply into his face. “You know, I haven’t seen you before. How do you know Toshi?” she questioned, her eyes narrowing slightly, her grip tightening on her cane. Shouta looked back at her, his eyes softening at the nickname.

“I started working for him about a month ago. He took me in and has cared for me ever since. He’s…” Shouta glanced over at the sleeping mob boss, “something incredibly special.” A tiny smile reached Chiyo’s face as she realized what he was hinting at, and she reached up and lightly thwacked her cane against Shouta’s head, causing the young man to reach up with a light howl of pain. “What the hell was that for?” he nearly shouted at her, rubbing the growing knot. The old woman snorted and rested her cane on the floor once again.

“He needs to know how you feel about him Mr. Aizawa.” She chided softly, laughter hiding behind her serious words. “Even in his sleep, he can hear you. Talk to him.” She winked knowingly. “It just might wake him up and help him heal faster.” She turned her back to Shouta, pausing before her hand reached the door handle, her voice softly floating back to Shouta’s ears. “He’s going to need someone to help him get back on his feet. Can you promise to be there for him and take care of him?” The young man didn’t hesitate to nod.

“Of course, I’ll be here. I’m not leaving his side.” His voice deepened in sincerity. “I love him, Ms. Shuzenji. I’ll take the best care of him, I swear.” Chiyo nodded with a small relieved sigh.

“See that you do. I’ll be back when he wakes up to instruct you two on how to adjust to how life will have to be for him from now on.” She chuckled. “He’s not going to like it and I know him: he’ll fight me and my instructions every step of the way. Just keep him out of trouble, okay?” she asked as she opened the door. Shouta nodded again.

“I will.”

She nodded with a soft hum and left the room; Shouta listened to the sound of her cane tapping along the hallway, until it disappeared completely. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like reading anymore, so he tucked the book snugly under his pillow and swung his legs over the side of the bed, settling his bare feet on the cold floor, hissing at the chill that ran up his legs, and reached out, pulling his IV pole closer to him, dragging it towards Toshinori’s bed. For a long moment, Shouta simply stared down through his curtain of hair at the man he loved, and he sighed, sliding in next to the bigger man, curling himself against Toshinori’s shoulder and carefully avoiding his wounded side. He propped himself up on his right elbow, running his fingers through the older man’s wild blond locks, gently sliding his other hand over Toshinori’s peaceful face. He stayed like that, quietly memorizing his still features, before leaning down and planting his lips against Toshinori’s temple, letting his eyes drop closed. As Shouta pulled away, he began whispering in Toshinori’s ear everything that had happened since he had last been awake, making sure he kept talking until the first rays of sunlight danced across the hospital floor. Only then did exhaustion force Shouta into sleep, still curled up with Toshinori, his hand laid gently over the older man’s steadily beating heart.

 

****

 

Shouta awoke to bright sunlight assaulting his closed eyelids, and he groaned softly. Then he felt it: the feeling of long fingers carding through his dark hair, softly working out the insurmountable number of knots and tangles. Stunned by the unfamiliar feeling, Shouta’s eyes shot open and he twisted his face upwards, only to stare up into the most beautiful pair of bright blue eyes.

“Toshinori?” Shouta asked, believing he was dreaming. The older man smiled gently, moving his lightly trembling hand downwards to stroke Shouta’s cheek just below his stitches. Shouta sighed, placing his hand over Toshinori’s and letting his eyes fall closed in a moment of bliss. He pulled Toshinori’s hand down to place a gentle kiss to the inside of his palm, evoking a gasp from the older man, followed almost immediately by a violent coughing fit. 

Shouta shot up, ready to run out the door after a nurse, when Toshinori grabbed his wrist, pulling him back down on the bed. He reached over with his other hand to pull out a few tissues from the box placed within arms reach of his bed, and carefully pulled off his oxygen mask, wiping at the spattered blood that had escaped his lips. Shouta paused, then reached out to take the tissues from him, helping him clean himself up; Toshinori’s eyes grew wide at the gesture, his lips turning up into a soft smile.

“Thank you.” He rasped quietly, fighting back another cough, covering his mouth with a shaky hand. Shouta nodded, cursing himself that he could only watch the man he had fallen for suffer so much.

“Can I get you anything?” Shouta asked softly, suddenly feeling slightly shy. He shook his head trying to erase those thoughts from his mind. “I should probably go get a doctor or a nurse or-“ his voice was silenced by Toshinori reaching out and gripping his jaw, turning his face back to him, his blue eyes staring calmly into the wide obsidian ones, as he pulled Shouta closer. A small grin slid over Toshinori’s face as he brought his forehead to Shouta’s, his eyes falling shut. Then, ever so slowly, he tilted his face until his breath was ghosting across Shouta’s lips, the younger man trembling in his grasp, his eyes halfway closed. Finally, he pressed his warm lips against Shouta’s.

At first, Shouta didn’t move, the realization of what was happening shorting out what brain cells he had left, and he sat stock still. Then, Toshinori reached up and wound his fingers lightly in his long dark locks, and Shouta moaned against the older man’s lips, both hands reaching up to cup Toshinori’s cheeks, lightly running the pads of his thumbs just under his eyes. After a moment, Toshinori pulled away, feeling another coughing fit bubbling up from his lung, and Shouta sat back slightly, his dark eyes hazy.

“Oh…finally.” Toshinori laughed lightly as the cough worked its way up the back of his throat, covering his mouth with another tissue, prepared for whatever amount of warm sticky blood to come pouring out. Shouta chuckled softly, reaching out to stroke Toshinori’s wild mane of hair as his shoulders shook from the force of the cough.

“I have to tell someone that you’re awake, Toshinori.” The older man finally nodded as he continued hacking into his handful of tissues. Shouta waited until the fit calmed, leaning over to press a chaste kiss to Toshinori’s forehead. “I’ll be right back, okay?” The older man nodded again, his chest aching. Shouta stood up, pulling his IV pole with him, and opened the door, only to find Chiyo standing there, her hand raised as though she were getting ready to knock on the door. The young man’s eyes widened as he took a step back, allowing the older woman access into the room. Her eyes sparkled as she smirked up at Shouta.

“Good morning, Mr. Aizawa. I do hope you rested well. I was surprised to find you out of your bed again when I came to check on Toshinori early this morning.” Shouta couldn’t stop the blush that crept up the back of his neck, warming his cheeks, as he scowled down at the little lady. She waved him back to bed as she moved towards Toshinori, her cane tapping loudly on the floor. Shouta glanced over at his boyfriend, eyebrows shooting up as he noticed him slightly cowering away from the tiny physician. Chiyo stood right next to Toshinori’s wrapped torso, her eyes staring up into his bright blue ones.

“Toshi dear, I thought I had told you that you weren’t to do anything dangerous anymore.” She reached up and thumped her cane against Toshinori’s head, just as she had done to Shouta the previous night, and the younger man couldn’t help the smile that spread across his lips. “You never listen, you crazy man! Now look where it’s gotten you.” She pointed at his bandages, her eyebrows taking a dive towards her nose. “You’ve got one lung left, and they had to remove your entire stomach.” Toshinori’s eyes widened, and he coughed again, more violently this time. Chiyo stood there, watching him as he struggled to breathe, her eyes patient. Finally, he calmed down some, and she pointed at the oxygen mask lying on his chest. “Put that back on until your other lung starts to adjust to handling all your oxygen intake. We’ll slowly wean you off of it, don’t worry. “ she added as she saw Toshinori’s eyes shoot open in concern. “You’ll be all right, you big idiot.” She chuckled again, reaching up to pat one of his long legs hidden under the hospital blankets. Then she glanced back at Shouta, who had obediently crawled back into his bed. “And you.” Shouta flinched at her tone of voice. “He’s not to get out of this bed until I say so. No strenuous activity of any kind.” She said, giving Shouta a quick wink. “And don’t even think of bringing in food until I say he can eat again. Got it?” Shouta quickly nodded, eager to get Toshinori back to normal. The older man groaned.

“But Chiyo-ow.” He whined, but the little woman rapped him on the head again, making Toshinori go silent, scowling as he rubbed his aching scalp. 

“I mean it Toshinori Yagi.” She growled, using his full name. “You are to do exactly as I say until I tell you you can go home. And Mr. Aizawa is going to help me make sure you do.” Toshinori glanced over at Shouta with mock betrayal flashing in his eyes; Shouta couldn’t help but grin at him, mouthing the words ‘I’m sorry’ when the little doctor turned her back to him. Chiyo thumped her cane on the floor again as she explained more to the both of them about Toshinori’s condition, telling them how his new diet would work and about how long he would have to be in the hospital for. Toshinori took it all in stride, nodding along and making mental notes, until she told him that his buff, strong form would most likely deteriorate over the next few weeks to months. The older man’s eyes widened, then drooped slightly as he hung his head, his blond bangs falling into his face. He liked the way he looked and had worked hard to keep up his broad, muscular physique as he had gotten older. He risked a glance over at Shouta, afraid that he would be disappointed by this news, afraid that he wouldn’t want to be with him, afraid that he would lose him after he had just gotten him. Yet, Shouta nodded, his expression unchanging, his eyes meeting Toshinori’s, and he smiled gently back at him. 

Finally, Chiyo stopped talking, having told them everything they would need to know. Shouta’s head swam with information, as he closed his tired eyes, mentally filing everything away. He heard the door open and close, the little doctor having left them to their thoughts. Toshinori coughed lightly, the oxygen mask back in place over his mouth and nose, and Shouta slowly opened his eyes. The older man was staring at the wall, his face turned away from Shouta, and the younger man sighed, crawling out of his bed again, silently stepping over to Toshinori, and slid in next to him. The older man started as he felt the bed shift under Shouta’s weight, but he kept his face turned away.

“Look at me Toshinori.” The older man shook his head, too afraid of meeting those serious dark eyes. Shouta growled softly, reaching over and placing his hand under Toshinori’s cheek, pulling his face towards him, until those big, fearful blue eyes stared deep into his own. Shouta’s voice was soft as he spoke again. “What are you afraid of?” Toshinori sighed quietly, a tear slipping out of his eye, rolling down the side of his face into the pillow.

“I’m afraid of the changes that I’ll be going through. I’m scared of not being able to do what I’m used to doing, living my life the way I want.” His eyes closed and Shouta released his face. “And I’m terrified of losing you.” Toshinori whispered and Shouta’s eyes narrowed as he reached down to stroke the older man’s wispy bangs away from his forehead. He reached down and placed a gentle kiss to his cheek, making Toshinori whimper softly.

“You really think that, old man?” Shouta breathed against his ear. Toshinori hesitated, then nodded slowly. Shouta sat back, pulling away from the older man, and Toshinori whined at the loss, his blue eyes opening slowly, to stare up into the frowning face of the man he loved so dearly. Shouta shook his head, his hair whipping around his shoulders. “If you think that, you’re crazier than I thought.” he smirked down at Toshinori. “I’m not going anywhere, no matter what. I don’t care what you look like; looks fade anyways.” He placed his hand over Toshinori’s heart again. “This is who I love. I love this heart, and who it resides in.” His eyes sparkled. “I love you Toshinori Yagi.” He said softly, grasping the older man’s hand gently, raising it to his lips and kissing his knuckles, the gesture bringing forth a flood of tears from Toshinori’s watery blue eyes. Shouta slid his arm under Toshinori’s head, cradling him against his aching chest, stroking his hair as the older man cried softly, tears staining Shouta’s tee shirt.

As Toshinori’s sobs quieted, Shouta curled himself up tighter against the older man, tucking his head into the crook of his neck, letting his eyes fall closed, a smile on his face as they slipped into a peaceful sleep together.

 

*****

 

A few days later, Toshinori was sitting up in bed, staring out at the rain that slid slowly down the hospital window, his oxygen mask lying on the bed beside him, as he took in several deep breaths. He could feel his lung rattling slightly, but he had learned to adapt to that; Chiyo had informed him earlier that morning that his remaining lung was strong, and he could do without the oxygen unless he felt like he needed it. That little bit of freedom brightened his day, a smile crossing his face as he leaned back against the pillows.

Shouta had finally been released from the hospital the day before, after Chiyo removed the stiches from his face, and made him promise again to take care of Toshinori. As soon as he left, he had gone back to the hideout, and finally taken a shower, letting the warm water run over him for the longest time, feeling the stress and tension of the last week drain from his body. Then he had taken the time to thoroughly wash his hair, scowling at the number of tangles he would have to brush out. When he stepped out of the shower and wrapped himself in a towel, he made his way over to the mirror, wiping the condensation away, and stared at his reflection. He hardly recognized himself anymore: he had lost a small amount of weight, his torso carried yellowish bruises from his broken ribs, and he had a crescent shaped scar cut deep into the flesh below his right eye. He smirked back at himself, almost liking the way the scar looked; it gave him a more daring appearance, and his eyes crinkled around the edges as he grinned. After throwing on another black tee shirt and a pair of clean gray jeans, courtesy of Nemuri he was certain, he spent nearly an hour brushing his wet hair, until it hung tangle-free around his shoulders. He frowned slightly, and picked up a hair tie, throwing his long locks into a high ponytail, and as he glanced back up, he was reminded of Hizashi and how he always wore his hair. He sighed, completely lost in thought at the memories flooding his mind, until sweet little Takara brushed up against his legs, mewling up at him, her eyes bright, and Shouta shook the memories away, his face brightening as the best idea ever popped into his head.

The door clicked open, and Toshinori whipped his head around to see Shouta slipping in, quickly closing the door behind him. Toshinori stared at his back, still unbelieving that this gorgeous young man loved him and only him, no matter what obstacles faced them.

Toshinori grinned slightly at his boyfriend, his eyebrows dipping low into a frown as Shouta whipped his head around, a smirk on his lips.

“You’d better not say anything, Toshinori.” He hissed quietly as he turned around, a small bulge wriggling around inside his long coat. Toshinori’s bright blue eyes widened.

“Shouta, you didn’t…” he trailed off as the younger man winced, the lump moving up toward the neckline of his shirt, until a pair of ears popped out, followed by the rest of little Takara, who crawled out of Shouta’s shirt, a tiny meow escaping the small furball as she laid eyes on Toshinori. She wriggled out of Shouta’s grasp, landing softly on the bed, crawling up into the older man’s lap and gazed up into his smiling blue eyes, purring contentedly.

“Traitor.” Shouta mumbled as he shed his long black coat, throwing it haphazardly over the back of the chair, perching himself on the edge of Toshinori’s bed, leaning over and giving his boyfriend a small peck on the lips. God, what he wouldn’t give to do so many other things with the gorgeous man before him, but he had decided to wait until Toshinori was completely healthy before going any further in their relationship. Just being called his boyfriend and being this close to him was enough for now. The older man grinned against his lips as Shouta reluctantly pulled away.

“Hi there.” Shouta smiled back.

“You look like you’re feeling better.” Toshinori nodded.

“Chiyo was here a little while ago and told me to only use the oxygen if I feel like I can’t catch my breath on my own. That’s a good sign!” he said proudly. “Maybe I’ll get to go home soon.” Shouta sighed and reached out, clasping Toshinori’s thin hand.

“That is good news sweetheart. But please don’t hurry things. You’ll get home in good time, I promise.” Toshinori nodded, the smile on his face slipping away.

“I know. But I’m bored out of my mind, Shouta.” The younger man opened his mouth to say something, but a knock at the door stopped him. Shouta whipped his head around, his senses instantly on high alert, as Toshinori’s eyes widened, fear slowly creeping into the back of his mind. All of the medical staff would knock once, then immediately open the door, and Kuugo and Nemuri always burst in without knocking. Slowly, Shouta slid off the bed and cautiously cracked the door open, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

Two little boys stood outside the door, drenched from the rain. They couldn’t have been any older than six or seven, and the shorter of the two looked up at Shouta with the biggest pair of startling emerald eyes, his mop of dark green hair hopelessly messy, and he gave Shouta the biggest smile he could manage.

“Excuse me but is this Mr. Yagi’s room?” he asked softly, as he hiked the backpack that was nearly as big as he was higher on his shoulder. His companion, slightly taller with spiky blond hair and reddish-brown eyes, scowled and rolled his eyes. Shouta blinked at the question, staring down into the captivating green eyes.

“Uh, yeah. Come on in.” The little boy perked up immensely.

“Thank you so much! Come on Kaachan!” he said brightly, reaching back and grasping the scowling boy’s hand and pulling him past Shouta. The little blond’s eyes widened as he was tugged forward, but he didn’t pull his hand away.

“Hey, don’t pull me Deku! I can walk you know!” he snapped, a faint pinkish hue painting his cheeks.

Toshinori’s eyes lit up as he saw who his visitors were, his fear immediately dispelled, Takara sleeping soundly in his lap.

“Young Midoriya! And Young Bakugo! I’m so glad to see you!” he called out, a wide smile breaking out across his face as the little green-eyed boy launched himself into Toshinori’s waiting arms, a small groan of pain spilling from the older man’s lips, but the young boy didn’t notice. The blond hung back, crossing his arms over his chest, as Shouta stepped up behind him. Bakugo huffed out an annoyed sigh as he slightly turned his head towards Shouta.

“He’s our martial arts teacher, old man.” The kid growled quietly, as Shouta opened his mouth to ask how they knew Toshinori, his eyes narrowing as he realized what Bakugo had called him. But before he could answer, the young blond stuffed his hands deep in his pockets, shuffling toward the bed. Shouta glanced over to see Toshinori settled comfortably against his pillows, one long arm wrapped tightly around Midoriya, who had coaxed Takara into his arms where she lay snuggled, her contented purrs making the little boy giggle as he buried his face into her soft black fur. Shouta couldn’t help the grin that slid across his face as he and Toshinori made eye contact for a split second, the older man smiling gently, finally reaching out his free arm to wrap around Bakugo’s shoulders and lightly pulled him closer. The young blond yelped in surprise as Toshinori smirked down at him, playfully ruffling his wild hair.

“I’ve missed you boys. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you! Midoriya, have you grown? You look taller!” Toshinori bragged to the smaller boy, as his hand reached up to affectionately pat him gently on the head, making the boy giggle even harder. “And you, Young Bakugo, you look like you’ve grown up! I’m so proud of you!” he exclaimed, tousling the blond’s hair again, this time making him bat his hand away, the scowl still etched on his face but Toshinori didn’t seem to mind. Midoriya suddenly perked his head up, reaching around to pull his backpack off his shoulders and digging through, in search of something.

“I forgot! We brought you a present, Sensei!” he cried happily, as he triumphantly pulled up a small box, tied closed with a bright red bow, and presented it to Toshinori, his head dipping into a small bow. Shouta cut his eyes to Bakugo, who had gone silent, his eyes giving away his true feeling as he eagerly watched the older man accept the gift gently, before pulling Midoriya into a tight hug. As the little boy tightly clutched his teacher, Bakugo shyly moved closer; Toshinori noticed, holding out his other arm, and the young blond quickly stepped into his embrace, carefully wrapping his arms around the older man, a soft smile gracing his face.

“Thank you boys.” Toshinori whispered thickly, his blue eyes welling up with tears. Shouta smiled gently at them, not realizing just how much more he could fall in love with this man. Little Midoriya glanced up, his cheerful face frowning at the tears in Toshinori’s eyes.

“Sensei, are you crying?” he asked worriedly. Toshinori quickly shook his head, blinking back his tears and giving the boys his biggest smile.  
“Of course not, Young Midoriya!” he flipped his bangs out of his face. “I simply had a hair in my eye.” Bakugo rolled his eyes, and slowly pulled away, his scowling demeanor taking up residence on his face once more, and Shouta couldn’t help grinning down at him, earning himself another deep growl. Midoriya sat back up, looking back at his teacher expectantly.

“Unfortunately, we can't stay long today. Will you open it before we leave, Sensei?” he questioned softly. And how could Toshinori say no to those big soulful emerald eyes? With a soft smile, he turned the black box over and over in his hands, admiring the skill it had taken to tie a ribbon into such a perfect bow, slowly tugging at the ends until it came undone. As he lifted the lid, the most delicious scent wafted up from the inside, Toshinori’s blue eyes growing wide; Shouta immediately stepped over, glancing over his boyfriend’s shoulder to stare at the gorgeous array of chocolates in Toshinori’s hand. The rich aroma permeated the room, making Shouta’s mouth water; he gently rested his hand on Toshinori’s shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze, letting him know that one couldn’t possibly hurt, as long as they didn’t tell Chiyo. Toshinori grinned at the two boys, his long fingers pulling up a square piece of milk chocolate, popping it into his mouth, his eyes promptly rolling back into his skull, a soft moan leaving his lips.

“How’d you boys know these were my favorites?” he mumbled around the silken mouthful, carefully closing the box back up and tying the ribbon back around the top. Midoriya grinned at Bakugo, then turned back to Toshinori.

“They’re my favorites too, so we figured you would like them. And chocolate makes everyone feel better!” he said proudly, reluctantly climbing off the bed and swinging his backpack over his shoulders again, reaching down to stroke Takara one more time. Toshinori ruffled his hair with a smile, dipping his head to the little boy.

“Thank you Midoriya and Bakugo. I will enjoy every bite of these, and I’ll think of you when I do.” He grinned at them, and, much to Shouta’s surprise, Bakugo grinned back. Slowly, the two boys made their way to the door, turning to give their teacher a small wave, Bakugo reaching out behind him to grip Midoriya’s hand, startling the smaller boy. Toshinori called out to them as they opened the door, “Come back and see me again you two! And tell the other kids they’re more than welcome to visit!” and he gave them a small wave. Then, with smiles all around, Bakugo pulled Midoriya through the door and they were gone.

Shouta sighed, suddenly tired, and dropped to sit down at the edge of Toshinori’s bed again, the older man reaching out to run his fingers through the younger man’s dark ponytail; Shouta hummed in contentment, closing his eyes for a brief moment, leaning over until his face was buried in the mattress directly beside Toshinori’s chest.

“Those two are my best students.” Toshinori said softly. “Midoriya is so kind to everyone, and he takes everything thrown at him with a smile.” Shouta didn’t have to open his eyes to hear the soft smile on Toshinori’s face, and he grinned into the bedding. “And Bakugo. That kid has so much spirit, he’s…explosive. He puts so much power into everything he does. But he tends to bully people to hide his kindness. He likes to act tough, but deep down, the kid has a big heart.” Shouta hummed again in agreement, his mind slowly shutting itself off. But before he could fall asleep completely, the door banged open again; Shouta shot up, his eyes wide as he whipped his head around to see who had entered.

Naomasa stood there, doubled over, panting and sweating as if he had just run a marathon.

“Shouta.” He gasped out, leaning against the doorframe, his hand clutching his chest. “You have to come with me. Right now.” Shouta sprang out of the bed, racing over to the detective, his dark eyes full of concern.

“What happened Naomasa?” his heart froze, thinking of Nemuri. “Is everyone all right?” The detective nodded swiftly, still trying to catch his breath. Shouta glanced over at Toshinori, his face serious, blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he clutched the kitten to his chest. Finally, Naomasa took a deep breath, his next words nothing Shouta ever expected to hear.

“Your friends. They showed up at the police department not an hour ago.” Shouta frowned, not fully understanding what he was getting at.

“What friends, Naomasa?” Finally, the detective looked up into Shouta’s dark confused eyes.

“Hizashi. And he brought a little girl with him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to finish! But, life always finds a way to pull me away from writing. This scene was especially difficult for me, since I've had two family members in the hospital since I released the last chapter. Hopefully, there won't be such a long delay next time!


	7. Surprise!

The silence that followed the detective’s revelation was palpable, as Shouta was at a complete loss for words, staring off into space, Naomasa bent over nearly in half catching his breath, Toshinori’s hands stilled, hovering over Takara’s tiny head. Shouta just stood there, opening and closing his mouth, but no words came out. Toshinori was the first to break the silence.

“How do you know it’s Hizashi, Naomasa?” Finally gulping in enough air, the detective stood up.

“Nemuri recognized him from the attack on the warehouse. He’s being kept under surveillance after what she told us those corpses were doing.” Naomasa reached forward, dropping his hands heavily on Shouta’s shoulders, jerking him back to reality, the young man’s head snapping up to stare into Naomasa’s eyes.

“But he’s dead. So…how?” he whispered thickly, his dark eyes still uncomprehending.

“We’re not sure. It must have been programmed into his mind should something happen to All For One.” Shouta shook his head.

“That’s not possible. All For One would never send his experiments to the police.” He turned to face Toshinori, who gave him a small smile, and leaned down to pluck his coat from the chair, slinging it around his shoulders, something almost akin to hope lighting up his dark eyes. “I have to go.”

“Yes, I know.” The older man shooed them away, calling out behind them, “I’ll be here waiting on you!” As Shouta and Naomasa bolted out of the room, Toshinori dropped his head, staring down into the kitten’s unblinking eyes. “Be safe, Shouta.” He raised his bright blue eyes to the ceiling. “Please.”

 

*****

 

Shouta and Naomasa raced down the street, darting in and out of alleyways, and between buildings until they dashed up the steps of the police department. They shook the water out of their hair as they stepped inside. Immediately, Shouta was yanked into a bone-crushing hug, long dark hair tied up in a ponytail brushing against his cheek. He couldn’t help smiling.

“Hello Nemuri.” The woman didn’t speak, just squeezed him more tightly. “Nemuri, you’re gonna break my ribs again.” He gasped out, as she frantically pulled away.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I forget what kind of grip I have sometimes.” She said sheepishly, having the good grace to blush. Shouta took a step back, admiring her new look; she was dressed in her police uniform, the navy-blue suit bringing out the deep blue of her eyes, sharp lines hugging her figure perfectly. He pointed down at her belt.

“Oh look, a proper place to keep your handcuffs.” He smirked, and she reached back, lightly punching his upper arm, bringing forth a chuckle from Naomasa who was still standing behind Shouta and trying his best to dry himself off with a small handkerchief.

“Oh, shut up! I had nowhere else to put them!” she cried out, blushing furiously now. Shouta took a small step back, his face falling again, as he stuffed his hands deep into his pockets, wishing desperately that he had Toshinori’s scarf back, so he could bury his face into it and avoid the reality around him. Nemuri calmed her giggling, as she reached out, pulling Shouta to her again, this time far more gently. “I can’t even imagine what you’re going through right now. I’ve never lost someone close to me.” She said quietly, as Shouta let her hold him for a moment, his arms hanging limply at his sides.

“Where are they?” he asked, his voice deepening. Nemuri pulled away, glancing back at Naomasa, who nodded to her, and motioned towards a hallway on the other side of the foyer.

“They’re this way.” She turned her back to Shouta, and took a couple of steps forward, stopping when she realized he wasn’t following. “Come on.” But Shouta wouldn’t budge, his memories whirling around in his head, stopping all rational thought. All he could think was how much he didn’t want to see his dead best friend in the state he had seen him in last. As he remembered how Hizashi had been shot right in front of him, Shouta trembled uncontrollably, sudden tears streaking down his face, and Naomasa was swiftly at his side, whisking him down the hallway and into an empty room, closing the door softly behind them. Shouta dropped to his knees as his legs gave out from under him, the detective falling to the floor before him, desperately trying to hold the young man up. Nemuri grabbed Shouta’s shoulders from behind, keeping him upright as Naomasa took his face in his hands, staring deep into the young man’s hazy, vacant expression.

“Shouta, listen to me.” Naomasa’s voice was soft, compassion and understanding in his eyes. “I need you to come back to us. Everything will be all right.” He gently stroked Shouta’s tear-stained cheeks with his thumbs, until he saw the light return to the younger man’s eyes, his violent trembling slowly ceasing, and the detective breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry.” Shouta choked out, wiping the remaining tears from his face. Naomasa shook his head, slowly standing.

“It’s not your fault. You’ve gone through a severe trauma. Honestly, if you didn’t react that way sooner or later, I would be more concerned.” He clapped Shouta on the shoulder and he rose to his feet, leaning down to peer into his face. “Are you going to be all right?” Shouta nodded.

“Yeah. I’m fine now.”

There was a sharp knock on the door, and Nemuri turned to open it. Another officer spoke to her in a hushed voice, then quickly bowed and left. Her face was contemplative as she slowly turned back to Naomasa and Shouta.

“A medical examiner was called a little while ago and he’s just arrived.” Naomasa nodded.

“Let’s get going then.”

Nemuri led the way down the hallway after they exited the small room, Shouta following closely behind her, his heart racing in his chest. He wasn’t sure of what he was supposed to do, but he knew he needed to be here. Nemuri paused in front of a door near the end of the hallway, sighing as she swung it open. 

Shouta slowly stepped into the room, his eyes filling with tears again, as he beheld little Ochako, lying motionless on the high metal table in the center of the room. An officer was stationed in the corner, his eyes wide and fearful. Naomasa nodded at him, and he immediately bowed and fled the room. Shouta shuffled forward until he was standing at Ochako’s side; ever so gently, he reached down to brush her stringy brown hair away from her forehead, his gentle touch lingering as he cupped her cold, sunken cheek. Naomasa and Nemuri remained in the doorway, giving Shouta the moment he needed with the little girl. As he turned back towards them, Naomasa spoke up quietly.

“Who was she?” Shouta sniffled lightly, stuffing his hands deep in his pockets, his bloodshot eyes finally glancing up to meet the detective’s.

“She was a little girl who lived in my neighborhood. She was always smiling and giggling, and she made everyone around her happy.” Shouta’s eyes steeled. “Everyone loved Ochako; she was the joy of the street, and some monster gunned her down right in front of me.” Shouta had no more tears to cry, his anger threatening to break free as he stared at the officers standing in front of him, his dark eyes flashing. Nemuri stepped closer, wrapping her arms around him again, the gesture calming to the furious young man.

“We’ll get the examiner in here soon.” She crooned softly in Shouta’s ear. “She’ll be well taken care of, I promise.” Shouta nodded stiffly, as Nemuri pulled away gently. A sudden knock sounded on the doorframe, and all three of them whirled around, to come face to face with a little old man, his thick gray hair skillfully slicked back, and a pair of thick black glasses perched on his nose, bright eyes sweeping across the faces before him.

“Good afternoon, lady and gentlemen.” He spoke softly, nodding to Nemuri. He chuckled, stepping into the room, carrying a small black bag. “Forgive me for taking so long. The hallways are long, and I don’t move very fast anymore.” Naomasa chuckled with him, patting him gently on the shoulder.

“Doctor Torino, it’s always a pleasure to see you.” The little old man squinted up at Naomasa, giving him a grin, then turned to the figure on the table.

“Well, what have we here.” He began muttering to himself as he pulled out several instruments from his bag. Shouta suddenly decided he couldn’t bear to watch and quickly dashed out of the room, leaning heavily against the wall in the hallway, trying his best to swallow the panic welling up inside him. Nemuri followed him, staying a short distance away until Shouta had calmed himself down significantly.

“Naomasa will stay with her while the doctor does his work.” She spoke softly, her hand gently grazing Shouta’s ponytail that was quickly coming undone. “She’s in excellent hands. Doctor Torino is one of the very best examiners in the country.” Shouta nodded, slowly turning to face her.

“Where’s Hizashi? I need to see him,” he said quietly, his voice breaking. Nemuri simply nodded, and gently tugged his arm, until the rest of his body reluctantly followed, finally coming to a stop at the door at the very end of the hallway. She softly knocked on the door, waiting just a second before it was opened by a young man, his dark brown hair perfectly styled, his face stoic, as he pushed his glasses further up his nose.

“Officer Kayama.” He spoke clearly as he politely nodded to Shouta and left the room. Nemuri pushed the door open the rest of the way, giving Shouta full access to the room. He nodded gratefully, placing his hand on her shoulder, as he stepped through the doorway, softly closing the door behind him, leaving Nemuri standing alone in the hallway.

Shouta almost couldn’t bear to turn from the closed door. He knew his best friend lay close behind him, and he choked back a sob, leaning his forehead on the door, a lone tear making its way down his face, and dripping silently off his chin. Finally, he slowly turned around, his face softening, an unexpected smile crossing his face as his eyes pooled with tears. Hizashi lay curled up on the same kind of table that Ochako had been laid out upon, and Shouta stepped up, placing his hands on the edge, gripping so tightly his knuckles went white. He stared down at his best friend: his long blond hair was matted and horribly knotted, bits of dust and debris coursing through it, the once white tee shirt deeply stained scarlet, his eyes softly closed as though he were sleeping, a gentle expression on his thin face.

“Hizashi.” Shouta whispered, his sobs finally breaking free, tears flowing unashamedly and falling on the still form below him, soaking through the shoulder of Hizashi’s tee shirt. The young man reached up and angrily yanked his hair out of the now loose ponytail, his hair falling free and covering his face. He cried for a long time, longer than he ever had, all his emotions and tears had been building since the day he last saw Hizashi alive. Now, here he was, finally getting to say goodbye. 

Ever so gently, he placed his hand on his best friend’s chest, over his heart, his fingers trembling, as he closed his eyes for just a moment; all of his best memories came flooding back to him, but the one that stood out the most prominently was the morning they sat on the roof together, just before everything went wrong. He could see the slight breeze blowing through Hizashi’s long hair, he watched as he grinned his crazy, lopsided smile at him; he heard him call out “Shouta” as quiet as a whisper, his hand stretching out to his friend, just before his vision plummeted into darkness, more sobs threatening to break through.

Suddenly, his head snapped up, his eyes shooting open: someone had said his name. He wasn’t imagining that; he’d heard his name spoken clearly. He whipped his head around, thinking that Nemuri had perhaps stepped in to check on him, but there was no one there, the door still firmly closed.

“Sho?” the voice whispered again, and Shouta almost jumped out of his skin, knowing there was a spirit in the room with him; his eyes glanced furtively around the darkened corners, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of the ghost of his friend, but to no avail.

And then something cool touched his hand.

Shock kept him from jerking away, but overwhelming curiosity made him slowly glance down at his hand still gripping the edge of the table, and his heart stopped.

Hizashi’s hand was faintly brushing Shouta’s fingertips, a hand that hadn’t been that close a second earlier, and his eyes quickly flicked up to Hizashi’s face.

“Hizashi?” he breathed, a feeling not unlike hope coursing through his soul, as he leaned closer to his friend’s ashen face. He blinked, his heart thundering in his chest as he saw Hizashi’s eyelids flicker, then slide open, blinking slowly in the harsh light above his head. His light emerald eyes roved over Shouta’s face, all the color drained from his skin.   
Shouta stood frozen, his eyes popping out of his head, his mouth hanging open, before he finally reacted, jumping backward and tripping over his own feet, landing heavily on his ass. From his now seated position, he looked up into Hizashi’s weak eyes, his friend’s lips slowly working open.

“S-Sho.” He breathed. “H-Help me.”

Shouta stared blankly at his friend, not believing what he was seeing before him. The Hizashi that had been controlled the last time he’d seen him couldn’t speak, and had hardly noticed Shouta’s presence, so what was different this time? Slowly, he stood, cautiously making his way back to stand near his friend. Hizashi’s eyes followed him slowly, before he let out a sharp exhale, biting his frighteningly chapped bottom lip in sheer misery, as he curled more deeply into himself, and Shouta’s heart shattered.

“Nemuri!” he called, his voice cracked and hoarse from the shock; finally, he shook his head, clearing his senses, logical thought processes once more racing through his head. “NEMURI!” he screamed, reaching forward again, and clasping Hizashi’s hand gently, his dark eyes full of tears. The door burst open, the young female officer striding in, her gun held out in front of her; her eyes went wide, and she nearly dropped her weapon as she noticed Shouta’s shaking form, and Hizashi’s opened eyes.

“Shouta get away from him!” she shouted, aiming her gun between Hizashi’s eyes, but Shouta didn’t move, instead gripping Hizashi’s hand more tightly. Nemuri refused to budge, a frown marring her features. “I mean it, Shouta. He could kill you!” Shouta shook his head, his voice husky and broken.

“He won’t hurt me.” He turned his face slightly so Nemuri could see his profile through his curtain of wild hair. “Go get the doctor.” As he spoke, Hizashi breathed out a soft moan, tightly shutting his eyes again, pain washing over his face.

Slowly, Nemuri lowered her weapon, her hands trembling, shock radiating through her eyes.

“Oh god, is he alive?” she gasped out, her gun falling to the floor, and threw her hands up to cover her mouth, her eyes wide. Shouta nodded, his voice calm.

“I think so. But I’ll need Doctor Torino to confirm it.” Without another word, Nemuri turned and raced out the door; Shouta could hear her frantic shouting for the doctor as he remained where he was, his hand gripping Hizashi’s tightly. His friend shuddered violently as another wave of pain tore through his body.

“Sho…” he moaned softly, and Shouta leaned down, running his free hand through Hizashi’s wild hair, leaning down to press his forehead to his friend’s temple.

“I’m here, Zashi. I’m here.” Shouta whispered fervently, calling his friend by the nickname he had christened him with when they were kids. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I’ve got you.”

Hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway, the elderly physician stumbling through the open door first, much to the two officers surprise, stopping short and staring at the man curled up on the table. Hizashi’s eyes slowly rolled to look over at the small man standing just behind his friend, and Doctor Torino gasped, whipping a stethoscope from around his neck and stepping forward to stand directly next to Shouta.

“Please excuse me, Mr. Aizawa. I’ll just be a moment.” The little man said softly as he placed the end of the stethoscope on Hizashi’s chest, his eyes widening in shock after a few seconds, tearing the buds from his ears and turning to the two officers still lurking in the doorway.

“Call for an ambulance immediately.” Naomasa nodded quickly, turning and rushing off as he yanked his cell phone out of his pocket. Nemuri, however, didn’t move.

“Is he…really…alive?” she asked, her voice no louder than a whisper, but the doctor heard her all the same, swiftly nodding his head as he tucked his fingers under Hizashi’s neck to check his pulse that way as well.

“His heart rate is extremely slow.” Doctor Torino muttered softly, wrapping his stethoscope around his neck again. “Honestly, I don’t know if he’ll make it to the hospital. It’s a complete miracle he’s survived this long.” Shouta whipped his head around, his eyes narrowed in determination.

“He’ll make it.” He growled quietly, tightening his grip on Hizashi’s hand again. “He has to. He’s held on this long…he can’t die now.” The little doctor gave Shouta a small smile, gently patting his arm as he took a step back.

“That’s the spirit, Mr. Aizawa! He needs us to believe in him.” He glanced down at Hizashi, who’s eyes had closed again, his mouth set in a tight line. “He needs you.” Shouta nodded stiffly, his darkened eyes never leaving Hizashi’s ashen face. Doctor Torino slowly made his way over to the doorway, gently patting Nemuri’s trembling hand, and stepped out into the hallway to wait on the paramedics.

Nemuri took a hesitant step towards Shouta, her gentle blue eyes curiously studying Hizashi’s facial features.

“So, you two grew up together?” she asked softly as she stepped up beside Shouta, slowly reaching her hand down to stroke Hizashi’s hair. Shouta nodded.

“Yeah. We lived next door to each other from the time we were both small kids, so we practically grew up as brothers. As we grew older and the neighborhood got rougher, he and I began doing pretty much whatever we had to, to keep the families that lived there safe.” He let out a small chuckle. “Hizashi was always the lady’s man, and everyone loved him and his super carefree attitude.” Nemuri cut her eyes over to Shouta’s face.

“And what about you, Shouta? What were you like?” The young man furrowed his brow thoughtfully.

“I was quiet. And I was far more logical than Hizashi could ever dream of being. The man lived loud and with his heart on his sleeve. I preferred to keep to myself.” This time, it was Nemuri’s turn to chuckle.

“I believe it.” She reached over and placed her hand over Shouta’s and Hizashi’s. “But you forgot to mention that you have a big heart, and that you have almost unlimited kindness and patience.” Shouta scowled but didn’t pull his hand away.

“Well, don’t go spreading that around, Nemuri. I have a certain image I’d like to keep.” At that, Nemuri laughed softly, closing her eyes in mirth. When she opened them again, her breath caught; Hizashi had turned his eyes upward to stare at her, a weak grin crossing his lips.

“H-Hey there, p-pretty lady.” He sucked in a sharp breath as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut again, his grip on Shouta’s hand tightening. The young man smiled gently, relief flooding his face.

“He’ll be fine if he’s flirting with you.” He said quietly. But Nemuri didn’t hear him, her gaze soft as she stared down at Hizashi’s ashen face, his once handsome features thin and sunken. Shouta chuckled and shook his head, his dark hair falling into his face. “And another one bites the dust.” He muttered to himself, as his ears detected the wail of sirens in the distance.

 

Shouta calmly allowed the paramedics to gently lift Hizashi onto a stretcher and load him into the back of the ambulance, Nemuri never once leaving his side, her hand finding his and squeezing tightly. As the vehicle pulled away slowly, Shouta turned to Naomasa and Doctor Torino who had made an appearance a few moments earlier.

“I’m going on to the hospital to wait on him. What will happen to Ochako?” Doctor Torino slowly shook his head.

“I checked her for vitals. She had none.” Shouta dropped his head, and Naomasa stepped up behind him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. The doctor cleared his throat. “I have a few more things I need to check on, if what the lady here says is true.” He turned his gaze to Nemuri. “Is it true you saw corpses moving on their own?” Nemuri nodded, her lips tightening at the memory. “Did you see how it happened?” She shook her head, glancing up at Shouta, who nodded.

“I didn’t see how, but apparently All For One revealed how it was done, to Shouta.” The physician turned to look into Shouta’s dark, tired eyes. He coughed lightly and cleared his throat.

“All For One said he could control them with microchips implanted in their brains. I saw him demonstrate how it worked on Ochako and Hizashi.” Doctor Torino frowned.

“Brain control? Not mind control?” Shouta shook his head slowly.

“He said he had killed everyone and implanted chips in their brains, preventing them from having the ability to think and act on their own.” He bit his lip, shoving his hands deep into his pockets, his dark eyes thoughtful. “I know Ochako was dead when we last saw her. There was no pulse when we got to her.” Doctor Torino nodded, absentmindedly fiddling with the stethoscope hanging around his neck.

“And what about Hizashi?” Shouta shook his head again.

“I didn’t have time to check. I was being shot at. But I was certain he didn’t survive.” The doctor hummed thoughtfully, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

“I’ll need to operate on Ochako, to see just what kind of contraption All For One created. I might be able to see just how he was able to control her. And I’ll alert the doctors at the hospital who will be working on Hizashi to remove whatever chip he had put into him as well.” Shouta’s eyes shot open.

“But couldn’t that cause more damage?” 

“Yes. It could.” Doctor Torino stated simply. “However, if he was able to be controlled, we need to remove that device in order to keep him safe.” His voice softened as his eyes looked up into Shouta’s frightened eyes. “We don’t need someone knowing what we do and using him as a weapon against us. If we remove whatever chip he has in there, he’ll be much better off, and we’ll all be much safer in the long run.” Shouta thought over his logical response for a minute, then reluctantly nodded again.

“You’re right.” He glanced over at Naomasa and Nemuri. “Well, you both know where to find me should anything else come up.” And without another word, Shouta took off in a dead sprint towards the hospital, his thoughts jumbling up together, too many emotions to name flashing across his face.

 

*****

 

“Sweetheart, if you keep pacing like that, you’ll wear a hole in the floor.” Toshinori chuckled a few hours later as Shouta nervously walked back and forth from the door to the window and back again, his boyfriend watching him with amusement. Hizashi had been in surgery for nearly five hours now, and Shouta was getting anxious, gnawing on his chapped bottom lip as he ran his shaking hands through his long dark locks.

“What if something’s gone wrong? What if he dies?” Shouta muttered softly, venturing closer to Toshinori’s bed. “What the hell is taking them so long?” A long arm gently wrapped around his waist as he turned his back to Toshinori, pulling him backward, until he collapsed on his back with a startled yelp, his legs dangling helplessly over the edge of the hospital bed. The older man stood over him and Shouta gasped in shock, his dark eyes growing wide.

“You’re not supposed to be out of bed yet, Toshinori.” He said softly and Toshinori chuckled again, leaning down to nuzzle his face into Shouta’s scratchy neck, making the younger man gasp beneath him. Ever so slowly, he placed gentle, open mouthed kisses along his jawline, pausing to run his tongue around the shell of Shouta’s ear, his voice warm and husky.

“Chiyo knows I never listen to her.” He growled, softly sinking his teeth into Shouta’s earlobe, relishing in the needy whimper he heard bubbling from between the younger man’s lips. Toshinori smiled against his flushed skin, as he slowly pulled away, gazing down adoringly at the man he loved, leaning down to peck him quickly on the lips and immediately pulling away. “Besides, you needed a distraction.” Shouta’s lust-darkened eyes narrowed as Toshinori chuckled again, a small cough working its way up the back of his throat.

“Asshole.” He muttered, hauling himself up into a sitting position and pulling Toshinori back into bed; the older man didn’t resist, tumbling back against the pillows with a satisfied grin on his lips.

“It worked didn’t it?” Toshinori smirked. Shouta didn’t deny it, instead drawing his legs up to his chest, burying his chin in his knees, eyes staring down his boyfriend.

“You just wait, Toshinori Yagi.” His onyx eyes sparkled mischievously. “As soon as you’re out of here, I’ll have my revenge for that.” Toshinori grinned, winking one of those bright blue eyes.

“I’ll hold you to that, Shouta Aizawa.”

They sat like that for a while longer, Shouta telling Toshinori stories from his growing up years with Hizashi, making the older man shake with laughter, pausing to lean over to gently wipe away the blood that would occasionally spill from his lips after a coughing fit. Toshinori smiled at him softly.

“What did I do to deserve you?” he whispered, his hand coming up to clasp Shouta’s, bringing it to his lips. The younger man’s breath hitched at the gentle sight. He opened his mouth to respond when a throat cleared at the doorway, the younger man’s head whipping around, a scowl in his dark eyes. Nemuri stood there, her hand desperately trying to hide the huge smile crossing her lips but failing spectacularly. Toshinori grinned and waved her in.

“Nemuri, it’s lovely to see you!” he said softly, embracing her as she threw her arms around him. Shouta rolled his eyes.

“What do you want, Nemuri?” he questioned as the pair pulled apart. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her face going serious.

“Hizashi is out of surgery.” Shouta’s eyes shot open, as the young woman held up her hand. “They repaired the hole the bullet put in his chest, and they found the microchip. Doctor Torino is watching over him now.” Her voice softened even further, as she gazed down at the floor. “He brought Ochako’s body with him. He completed his examination on her at the police station.” Shouta sucked in a deep breath, then nodded, gracefully sliding off the bed and stepping onto the floor. Toshinori squeezed his hand reassuringly.

“Where is she?”

“Doctor Torino took her to the morgue. She’ll stay there until final arrangements can be made.” Nemuri glanced up into Shouta’s dark eyes, noticing the sadness buried deep. “Naomasa is more than willing to make the arrangements…” she began, but Shouta shook his head.

“I’ll take care of them.” Nemuri nodded, reaching out to clasp Shouta’s free hand. No more words were spoken as they stood there, their silence comforting the young thoughtful man.

Someone knocked softly at the door, and Naomasa slowly poked his head in.

“Shouta? Doctor Torino just sent me to get you.” Shouta’s eyes narrowed as he glanced back at the detective. Naomasa smiled.

“Hizashi’s awake and he’s asking for you.”


	8. Confessions, Attraction, and the Space Between

Shouta stood silently outside Hizashi’s hospital room, his forehead pressed firmly against the door, his thoughts whirling wildly inside his head. He had so many questions running through his mind, but only one kept returning to the forefront: how had he survived? His thoughts were cut short when he heard a high-pitched female laugh from the other side of the door. He frowned and sighed, opening the door with a click, and stared at his best friend.

Hizashi was propped up in bed, white sterile bandages wrapped around his forehead above his bright emerald eyes; his hospital gown hung open loosely, revealing the network of bandages tightly wrapped around his chest as well. A nurse was sitting softly at Hizashi’s side, her hands gently tying his gown closed, her eyes closed tightly in a fit of laughter, and Shouta couldn’t help the smile that graced his face. This was a scene he honestly never thought he would get the chance to see again. Hizashi glanced up and grinned, waving frantically at Shouta, grimacing slightly at the pull from the bandages around his chest.

“Hey Sho! Come on in!” Hizashi called, his voice raspy from weeks of disuse. The nurse made her way to the door, nodding politely to Shouta, before stepping out, softly closing the door behind her. Shouta took a deep breath and made his way over to the bed, gingerly settling himself beside Hizashi’s long legs, turning his body to stare up into those bright green eyes. Hizashi’s grin quickly faded at Shouta’s serious expression. “I know you must have a lot of questions.” Shouta nodded, his dark hair flopping into his face.

“How Hizashi?” he asked, his voice soft. “How the hell did you survive?” Hizashi sighed, as he lowered his eyes to his hands, twisting them nervously together.

“You saw me get shot.” Shouta nodded again. “I remember telling you to run, to get away. I passed out right after that. I can only assume it was from blood loss and shock.” Shouta slid a little further up the bed, taking one of Hizashi’s trembling hands in his own and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Hizashi gave him a thin smile. “I woke up awhile later in some underground warehouse. I was in so much pain, yet someone had bandaged my gunshot wound. I couldn’t move much, but I was able to get a decent look at my surroundings. And I noticed someone in the room with me.” Shouta’s eyes widened slightly and Hizashi huffed out a quiet laugh, his free hand immediately flying up to clutch his chest wound, as though the memory pained him. “It wasn’t All For One if that’s what you were thinking. This guy was huge, built like a fucking bear, and he didn’t exactly have a prize-winning personality.” Hizashi’s voice softened. “But he saved my life. He may be a villain, but there’s a good guy in there somewhere. He kept me alive through everything, cleaning me up when my wound would act up, sneaking me food every chance he got;” Hizashi chuckled darkly, “he somehow convinced All For One that I was dead when he brought me in and that I would make a good puppet.

“Did he ever say what his name was?” Shouta asked curiously, but Hizashi shook his head.

“The only name I heard about him was something like ‘Endeavor’ or something like that. All For One called him that when he came to put that chip thing in my head.” Hizashi shuddered, pulling his hand away to wrap his arms around himself, his thin face blanking. “Endeavor told him I was dead, so that maniac operated on me while I was awake. I felt everything.” Hizashi’s eyes filled with tears at the memory and Shouta slid closer, pulling him into a tight embrace. “I thought I was going to die then; I was in so much pain.” Hizashi’s voice was muffled, buried in Shouta’s shoulder, and Shouta gently stroked his friend’s back in comforting circles. “Thankfully I passed out right about then. When I came to, All For One was gone, and Endeavor was there watching over me. He had a little device that would activate the chip in my brain, which I was completely clueless about, so he took the time to explain. When he was done, he apologized and told me he needed to try out the device.” Hizashi took a deep breath, and Shouta felt the shoulder of his shirt dampening, his friend shaking in his arms. “He pushed a button, and I felt the most awful pain I’d ever experienced in my life. It felt like lightning was arcing through my brain and lighting every nerve ending on fire. Then everything went black.” Shouta gently squeezed Hizashi's shoulders, listening to his heart-wrenching sobs, and immediately regretted making him tell his story. Hizashi choked in a breath. “I don’t know how long I was out for, but when I came back around, I was alone; and I was covered in blood that wasn’t mine. I found that I could sit up on my own and discovered that little device sitting on the table I had been lying on, along with a note from Endeavor. He wished me the best of luck and hoped I could get out and survive. The note explained how the device worked and told me to keep it with me, should something happen to All For One, I had a way out.” Shouta couldn’t help the sigh that escaped his lips and Hizashi lightly wrapped his arms around his friend. “I never saw him again, and I kept the device with me at all times. Whenever All For One needed me, I would black out, so I don’t remember anything that I could have done that would have caused anyone harm.”

“How’d you figure out to turn the chip off the last time?” Hizashi sighed softly.

“Ochako. She came along and tapped me on the leg hard enough to make me realize that something had happened. When she did, I must have automatically switched off the device, because I came to. I saw all the destruction, and a lot of blood; all of the people from the neighborhood were there, dead, stacked in piles, and Ochako was slowly toppling over. I caught her and brought her to the police station.” He sighed again. “That must have been my body’s limit. I don’t remember anything after that until I saw you standing over me.”

“Was there ever a time that you escaped?” Shouta questioned, his memory flashing back to the day he started his job and seeing Hizashi. His friend paused, then nodded.

“I escaped once, but I was really disoriented. I had no clue where I was, but I thought I saw you.” Shouta’s breath hitched. “I turned a corner and realized that must have been you, and I turned to go back; but All For One summoned me back and I blacked out.” Hizashi sniffled, squeezing Shouta tighter. “I’m so sorry, Sho. I never meant for any of this to happen.” Shouta pulled away, his heart clenching at his friend’s distraught face, as he reached up to wipe Hizashi’s tears away.

“It’s ok Zashi. We’re all right. You’re going to be fine, I promise.”

“Indeed, he is.”

Shouta and Hizashi both turned toward the door at the same time, Shouta’s eyes growing wide. Chiyo and Nemuri stood in the doorway with Naomasa standing just behind them, the little doctor slowly pacing forward with a huge grin on her wrinkled face.

“I just went over his charts, Mr. Aizawa, and you are correct. He’ll be fine after some recovery time.” Shouta breathed a sigh of relief and Hizashi grinned, his eyes flicking up to Nemuri’s smiling face, her cheeks tinted the faintest shade of pink. Chiyo cleared her throat, and rapped her cane against Hizashi’s shins, abruptly bringing his attention back to her. “He’ll be moved into a normal room tomorrow, but he’ll have to stay in bed until I give him permission to move.” She scowled at Hizashi, who had reached down to massage his sore shins. “Do I make myself clear, young man?” Hizashi nodded meekly, his eyes meeting Shouta’s, and he gave him a weak grin.

“Yes ma’am. I’ll do everything I can to get back on my feet as soon as possible.” Chiyo nodded, satisfied, then turned sharply on her heel, leaving the two officers and Shouta in the room.

“We heard most of what you told Shouta. We can fill you in later on what happened while you were blacked out, if that’s all right with you.” Naomasa spoke quietly and Hizashi nodded gratefully, his eyes flicking back towards Nemuri, who seemed to be looking anywhere but at him. The young blond cleared his throat and Shouta glanced over, catching the look he was giving Nemuri, and took the hint. He stood slowly, stretching his arms over his head.

“Well Zashi, I’m gonna go check on Toshinori.” Hizashi’s head swiveled to stare up at his friend, his eyes confused.

“Who’s that?” Suddenly, Shouta realized that Hizashi had never formally met Toshinori, he had only met All Might and only under All For One’s control. He sighed, gently placing his hand on top of Hizashi’s long hair.

“Toshinori is my boyfriend.” He couldn’t help cracking a grin at Hizashi’s shocked expression. “I’m sure you’ll meet him sooner or later. He’s on the floor below yours, so I’ll be sure to come up to see you soon, okay?” He stared down into Hizashi’s bright green eyes, quickly cutting them over to Nemuri, then immediately flicking them back. Hizashi caught the subtlety and nodded gratefully.

“Yeah, that’ll be great man.” He winked and gave Shouta a double thumbs up. “I’ll see you later.” Shouta rolled his eyes, and quickly turned to the door, nodding at Nemuri, and grasped Naomasa’s arm, pulling him out of the room with him, the detective protesting the entire way. As soon as the door shut behind both of them, Naomasa turned to Shouta, a dark look in his eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he choked out. Shouta shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“I’m making them get to know each other. Haven’t you seen the way Hizashi stares at her?” he asked softly. Naomasa opened his mouth to object, then snapped it shut as he realized Shouta was right. “I think they’d be good together. Nemuri can quell Hizashi’s loudness and insanity, and he can make her laugh.” Shouta’s eyes slid over to Naomasa’s. “They both deserve to be happy and I’m helping them do that.” And with that, he turned on his heel and sauntered off down the hall, leaving Naomasa standing shocked behind him.

 

He didn’t bother knocking when he reached Toshinori’s room. As he entered, he couldn’t help the soft smile that slid across his face. Toshinori was asleep, the book Shouta had been reading while he was a patient was face down on his chest and Takara lay curled up on his shoulder, her nose buried deeply into his neck. Suddenly, Shouta realized just how exhausted he really was, and decided right then and there to join his boyfriend for a well-deserved nap.

Slowly, so as not to wake him, Shouta sat on the edge of the bed, on the opposite side from the kitten. Then, he swung his legs up, lifting the blanket and slid his legs underneath, carefully turning his body so he could lay his head on Toshinori’s free shoulder, as he ever so gently reached up to trace his fingertips along his peaceful features, his eyelids growing heavy. Just before he dozed off, he felt Toshinori shift, turning his head to lean it against the top of Shouta’s wild hair, and the younger man couldn’t help smiling as he fell asleep.

*****

Apparently, a nap wasn’t enough rest for Shouta and Toshinori.

It was the next morning when Toshinori finally awoke, the last dregs of sleep still pulling at his mind as he forced his eyes open. He couldn’t help grinning at the sight before him.  
Shouta was still deeply asleep, his head lay gently on Toshinori’s bandaged chest, his arm thrown sleepily over his waist, where Takara lay serenely draped over his wrist. One leg had curled itself over Toshinori’s in the night, and the older man chuckled softly, gently reaching out to sweep Shouta’s tangled hair away from his peaceful, sleeping face, softly brushing his fingertips over his unshaven jaw and lightly tracing his lips. He leaned down to place a kiss to his tangled hair, closing those bright blue eyes as he did so. As he slowly, contentedly opened them, he became aware of another pair of eyes staring directly at his face. But these weren’t the familiar obsidian eyes he loved so much.

Toshinori whipped his head up, his wide eyes locking on the bright pair of emerald orbs just inches away from his face; slowly his gazed roved over the rest of the owner, taking note of the bandage wrapped tightly around his brow, and the bright blond hair, freshly washed, pulled back into a high ponytail. The barest trace of a moustache adorned his top lip and he grinned widely at Toshinori.

“I think I can safely assume you’re Sho’s boyfriend…Toshinori, right?” the blond man asked, wheeling himself away slightly. It was then Toshinori noticed the wheelchair the man was sitting in. He glanced up warily at the young man again, having the strangest sense that he’d met this man before, but he couldn’t remember where. Hesitantly, he nodded.

“You know Shouta?” The blond nodded enthusiastically; he had far more energy than Toshinori did this early in the morning.

“Yeah, he’s my best friend! We grew up together.” The young man’s eyes softened as he stared down at Shouta. “He’s an amazing guy who deserves to be happy.” He shook his head and grinned up at Toshinori. “I’m sorry, I guess you don’t know who I am.” The older man paused, then shook his head sadly. “I’m Hizashi Yamada.” Toshinori’s big blue eyes widened.

“You’re Hizashi?” he whispered, staring into the clear green eyes, his memory slowly coming back to him and the young man nodded. “You look much better.”

“I feel much better.” Hizashi said, rubbing his palm over the bandage around his forehead. “The doctors say I’m lucky to be alive.”

“Indeed you are.” Toshinori spoke softly, glancing down at Shouta and lightly stroking his dark hair. “He cares for you deeply, you know. He’s been in misery ever since the day he abandoned you.” Hizashi’s eyes widened for a split second, then swiftly closed, his face contorting in pain; both his hands quickly reached up to cradle his aching head, as he bit down hard on his bottom lip. Toshinori reached out to place a large hand on Hizashi’s knee in concern. “Are you all right?” When Hizashi didn’t answer, Toshinori grew even more anxious. “Should I call for a doctor?”

“No.” the younger blond whimpered out, opening tear filled eyes. “I’ll be ok. It’s just, ever since they took that chip thing out, I’ve been getting terrible headaches when I try to remember everything that happened before. Doctor Chiyo said she'll try to figure out why.” He took a deep breath, his hands trembling as he placed them on his thin thighs. “What exactly happened the day you got that injury?” he asked, pointing at Toshinori’s chest bindings. The older man softly let out a cough, desperately trying not to wake his sleeping boyfriend.

And he recounted everything that had gone down that day.

When he was finished, Hizashi’s eyes grew wide, his hand clutching his chest.

“You mean, I did all that?” he whispered, his voice choked. Toshinori sighed.

“It’s all okay now, Hizashi. You weren’t the one who wounded me or Shouta. The only person you injured was All For One, and, according to Shouta and Naomasa, he’s dead.” Hizashi’s green eyes flew open.

“He’s dead?” he nearly screeched, immediately throwing his hands over his mouth in surprise, but it was too late. Shouta groaned sleepily.

“Toshinori, shut the damn alarm off.” He murmured, still half asleep, curling a little tighter against Toshinori’s chest, making the older man grin. Takara yawned, stretching her little paws out against Shouta’s arm, before standing and padding down his legs to curl back up between Toshinori’s feet.

“Good morning sweetheart.” Toshinori whispered into Shouta’s ear, planting a soft kiss against his scratchy cheek. Shouta hummed contentedly, stretching his long legs to the fullest, before softly collapsing against Toshinori again. The older man gently pushed Shouta’s hair out of his eyes. “We have a guest, Shouta.” That got Shouta’s attention as his sleepy dark eyes slid open, eventually focusing on Hizashi sitting close by, a sheepish grin on his face.

“Hey Sho.” He said quietly. Shouta managed to lift his hand in greeting, immediately returning to reclining on Toshinori.

“What are you doing in here, Zashi?” he mumbled, his eyes slowly glancing around the room. “Where’s Doctor Chiyo and Nemuri?”

“Oh, about that. They wheeled me in here and told me they’d be back in a little while. Something about paperwork needing to be filled out.” Hizashi grinned, reaching out to offer his hand to Toshinori. “Hi there! I’m your new roommate!” Toshinori smiled, firmly clasping his hand, and Shouta groaned, rolling his eyes in mock horror.

“Wonderful. That’s two loud blonds I’m in charge of now.”

*****

It took three days before curiosity got the better of Shouta. Three days of listening to the banter and the laughter between his best friend and the man he loved. Three days of getting up in the middle of the night to slide into the hospital bed to comfort Hizashi who was whimpering or sobbing in his sleep, nightmares taking hold as his consciousness faded. Three days of slow walks with Toshinori up and down the long hallways of the hospital, reaching out to hold him upright as his one lung stuttered and struggled to supply the amount of oxygen the older man needed, blood dripping from his lips as he coughed violently.

It was three days before Shouta caught a break.

Hizashi was out for a little while; Chiyo wanted to run some tests to see how his mind was handling the stress he had been put under; Nemuri had insisted she would accompany him and Shouta didn’t argue. Toshinori was resting in bed, his body tired from their daily walks when Shouta decided it was time to question his boyfriend. He slid in beside Toshinori, resting his head against his shoulder.

“Can I ask you something?” he spoke softly, reaching up to stroke the older man’s wild blond hair. Toshinori nodded, surprise clear in his voice.

“Sure. Ask me anything.” He shifted slightly, draping his arm around Shouta, pulling him more tightly to his aching chest.

“Why were you smuggling guns?” he heard Toshinori inhale deeply, producing another light round of coughing. “Nemuri said you had a reason for it.” The older man nodded again, more hesitantly this time.

“When I was young, I wanted nothing more than to be a teacher. I had several amazing people that I looked up to in high school that taught me far more than just about my studies. They taught me about life.” He chuckled softly. “One of them told me I had the perfect personality to be a teacher, bright and cheerful, always smiling, always kind, never impatient. Those were her words, not mine.” He growled amusedly as Shouta huffed out a small laugh. “It was Nana who suggested the university I attended, helping me with my paperwork and making sure I followed through with what I set out to do. And four years later, she watched me graduate with all the honors I had earned. She was so proud. She had become like a mother to me.” His voice grew thick, and Shouta frowned. “I accepted a teaching job at the same high school I graduated from, so naturally Nana and I became coworkers. She went from being my mentor to being my friend.” Shouta slowly raised his head to peer into Toshinori’s watery blue eyes, surprise lighting up his face as he noticed a single tear sliding silently down the older man’s cheek.

“Toshinori?” he breathed, sitting up to brush the tear away with his fingertips. Toshinori smiled thinly, shaking his head slowly. He took in another shaky breath.

“I had been teaching for nearly a decade when the unthinkable happened. There was an attack on the school.” Shouta caught his breath. “A lone madman with a gun. He was looking for his child. According to police reports afterwards, the man had recently gotten divorced and his ex-wife had taken his teenage daughter and refused to let him see her. He had fallen deep into depression and insanity. Somehow, he got his hands on a gun and decided to take his daughter back.” Shouta reached out to tightly grasp one of Toshinori’s trembling hands, the older man gently squeezing back. “That man went through every classroom looking for his daughter, waving that gun around. Everyone was so frightened.” Toshinori’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I’ve never been so afraid in my life. But it wasn’t my life I was concerned for: I was afraid for my students. He easily could have shot any one of them and I would have been powerless to stop it.” He sniffled lightly. “He quickly realized his daughter wasn’t a part of my group and moved on to the classroom next door. Nana’s room. She had all the students gathered behind her desk and she was going to protect them, no matter what.” Toshinori’s breath hitched. “His daughter was among her students. And he wasn’t going to let her stop him. We all heard him screaming angrily and Nana doing her best to calm him down.” He clenched his fist tightly around Shouta’s hand. “I should have gone to help her sooner. I rushed my students down the hallway to the emergency exit, but I hesitated to turn back. That hesitation cost Nana her life.” Toshinori let out a choked cough and Shouta quickly wrapped his arms around his shaking shoulders. “She died protecting her students. I entered the room just in time to watch the bullet tear through her chest. And I didn’t think twice about tackling that man to the ground. Thankfully, someone had called the police and they arrived barely a moment later and took him into custody. But it was too late to save Nana.” Toshinori pulled back, his blue eyes staring directly into Shouta’s, another tear sliding down his sharp cheek. “She died in my arms, Shouta. There wasn’t anything I could do to save her.” He roughly wiped the tear away. “I made a vow right then that no teacher would ever have to go through what I did. I believed every classroom in every school should have some sort of protection, but in order to make that happen, I would have to go through a great deal of illegal things.” His blue eyes steeled. “I went looking for someone to offer me the information I needed. And that’s when I found All For One. He could provide everything I required to equip all teachers with a firearm. So, I quit my job teaching and completely threw myself into the mob lifestyle.”

“Toshinori- “

“I know. It wasn’t exactly the smartest thing I’ve ever done. But you have to understand, Shouta, I was driven by revenge and hatred. I had just lost the woman I considered to be my best friend and my mentor. I had a vision that I believed in and I would do anything to see it through. Do you know how that feels Shouta?” Those bright blue eyes bored deeply into the young man’s soul and he slowly nodded, licking his chapped lips.

“Yeah. I know exactly how that feels.” He whispered hoarsely. “I’m so sorry Toshi. I had no idea.” Toshinori’s lips curled up slightly at his use of the nickname, reaching out to pull him into his chest.

“All For One took a liking to me right away. I was devoted and quiet. No one would ever suspect me of working for the biggest mob boss in the country. I quickly became his second in command once he realized that I wasn’t there as a spy. He left me in charge of all of the gun shipments and anything he couldn’t trust anyone else with. Everything was going smoothly, until I noticed someone new lurking around.” Shouta’s eyebrows shot up in curiosity. “She really wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding her snooping. I caught her trying to steal the manifest for a year’s worth of gun shipments.” Toshinori chuckled at Shouta’s wide-eyed expression. “Yes, Shouta, I’m referring to Nemuri. She had managed to infiltrate his ranks without anyone noticing, which was rather impressive. I cornered and questioned her about what she was up to and she confessed rather quickly, which is a very bad trait for a police officer. She was in the middle of telling me what she was doing when Shigaraki appeared, and I covered for her, pretending that I had brought her on as my assistant. He didn’t really believe me, but he went along with it anyway. And that’s how Nemuri came to work for me.” He gently stroked Shouta’s hair as the younger man relaxed against his shoulder. “This went on for several years, until All For One decided to tackle his brain control theory. But by then, I had achieved my goal: a firearm for every teacher in every classroom. I strongly disagreed with his dream of being able to control a person, living or dead, with a snap of his fingers, and I certainly didn’t like his idea of human testing. It was cruel, but, even though I was second in command, I was powerless. I couldn’t stop him, no matter what I did. And it sickened me.” His voice grew dark and Shouta shivered, pulling in closer to Toshinori’s warmth. “Every day, people would arrive; some willingly, others not so much. All of them were confined to a small room, until All For One required another subject; then Shigaraki would come and select one and take them away. We would never see them again.” He squeezed Shouta’s shoulder tightly. “I managed to save two people. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it was all I could do.”

“Kuugo and Jean.” Shouta whispered and Toshinori nodded, his chest heaving as another round of coughs forced their way out of his lung. Ever so gently, Shouta wiped the spilled blood from his lips, making the older man sigh and drop his head.

“Thank you sweetheart.” Shouta nodded, carefully curling up against his chest again, his dark eyes staring up into Toshinori’s bright blue ones, waiting to hear how the story ended.

“After that, I managed to make an escape. Well, it wasn’t really an escape. I just walked out the front door, and never returned. I knew I would have to go deep into hiding to keep All For One from dragging me back and killing me, and the three people who now depended on me to keep them safe. That’s where our hideout came into play. It had once been an old police safe house that Nemuri secured for us. It was perfect. Since no one knew it existed, we were safe there.” Shouta sighed softly as Toshinori leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. “Since I had been All For One’s right hand man, I still had all of the gun shipping information. But I had no need for them at that point. So, every delivery I would get, I would either redirect it back to the manufacturer or find a way to dispose of them. A few times the police department got a nice shipment of new weapons. Anonymously donated, of course.” He smirked, winking one of those bright blue eyes. “Kuugo and Jean found jobs that suited them and Nemuri kept up her police work, even though she said she would rather stick with me when she could. I kept up the mob boss façade, but it wasn’t who I wanted to be anymore. So, I took another teaching job, this time training kids in martial arts. It kept me busy and I enjoyed it. You’ve met a couple of my students.” Shouta grinned.

“Those two absolutely adore you.”

“Yes, they do. And they look up to me. Which is why I’ve done everything I can to get out of the mob. I don’t want them idolizing someone who is technically a villain. The gun shipments are finished; I have nothing left to keep me from going back to a normal life now.” Toshinori spoke softly, as if he were realizing that he could live normally again. Only his injury would hold him back now.

“What do you want, Toshinori? Shouta whispered, clutching the older man’s hand. A sudden thought had just raced through his mind, one he didn’t dare dwell upon, yet there it was. He had to know.

Toshinori stared down at the mass of inky hair. Slowly, he leaned his face down until his lips were brushing Shouta’s ear, the ghost of a smile crossing his face.

“I want you.”

Shouta’s head snapped up, his dark eyes boring into Toshinori’s. A slow grin spread across his lips as he moved, lightly twisting so that he was straddling Toshinori’s thighs, his hands pressing on the pillow resting against the back of the hospital bed, caging the blond’s surprised face between his arms. Swiftly, he pressed his nose right against Toshinori’s, his breath grazing the older man’s lips, dark eyes warm and serious.

“Good. Because I only want you.”

With a gentleness that betrayed his darkened eyes, Shouta placed both hands on Toshinori’s cheeks, nuzzling their lips in an almost kiss, but not quite. The older man growled as he wrapped his arms tightly around Shouta’s waist, yanking him as close as he possibly could; but the younger man chuckled, pulling his lips away teasingly. Slowly, he turned Toshinori’s face away slightly, leaning in to brush his lips against his sharp jaw, drawing forth a moan from the man beneath him.

“S-Shouta.” Toshinori breathed, as Shouta’s warm breath wafted across his ear.

“Yes, Toshi?” he drawled, his voice dripping with sheer sensuality as he nibbled lightly on Toshinori’s earlobe. Toshinori gripped the back of the younger man’s shirt tightly in his fists.

“Please sweetheart. Please kiss me.” He felt Shouta grin against his neck.

“As you wish.”

And Shouta crushed his mouth against his boyfriend’s, moaning desperately as his lips parted slightly, allowing Toshinori’s tongue to dance furiously against his own. Shouta moved his hands from Toshinori’s face to twine tightly through his wild blond hair, gently yanking his head back and allowing the younger man access to that long, graceful throat. Toshinori gasped as Shouta suckled hot kisses down his neck, nearly crying out as he bit down lightly at the juncture between his neck and shoulder. Shouta pulled back with a lopsided grin on his face, this time lovingly placing his lips against Toshinori’s, kissing him gently.

Neither one heard the door open.

“Hey you guys! I’m back…” Hizashi started, pulling the two lovers from their trance, Shouta slowly turning around to glare at his friend, who was currently blushing scarlet, his hands clamped tightly over his mouth. Nemuri was standing behind his wheelchair, her blue eyes wide, and a huge grin on her face.

“It’s about time you two!” she screeched, bending down to wrap her arms around Hizashi’s shoulders and planting a kiss on his cheek; Shouta didn’t know it was possible to turn an even deeper shade of crimson, yet somehow, Hizashi pulled it off. Of course, the bright red lipstick stain on his cheek wasn’t helping matters any and Shouta couldn’t help chuckling; Toshinori had thrown his arm over his eyes, the sound of his laugher echoing through the hospital room.

“Thank you so much for ruining the moment, you asshole.”

As Nemuri helped Hizashi back into bed, Shouta leaned down to whisper deeply into Toshinori’s ear.

“I love you, old man.” Toshinori smiled softly as he kissed his cheek.

“I love you too, kid.”

*****

Three weeks had passed and Shouta could see the startling difference in Toshinori’s appearance. Gone were the huge bulky muscles and the buff exterior. Now, Toshinori looked terribly thin and gaunt. His full cheeks had hollowed, his eyes becoming heavily shadowed and sunken in. His limbs had grown long and thin, looking as though they shouldn’t be able to hold up his weight. Yet, here he stood, for his final check up with Chiyo. The older doctor walked circles around Toshinori as Shouta stood beside Hizashi, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. Toshinori coughed, quickly inhaling a deep breath to calm his fit before it got out of hand and Chiyo nodded, pleased with his progress.

“Toshinori Yagi, I don’t wish to see you in here again, if you can help it.” She spoke softly, pointing her cane at Shouta without looking at him. “He’s in charge of you now.” She turned slowly, her eyes squinting up at the dark-haired man and Shouta took an involuntary step back. “If anything happens to him, I’m blaming you, Mr. Aizawa.” She growled protectively. Shouta swallowed visibly.

“Yes ma’am. I’ll take care of him.”

Chiyo nodded, turning her eyes to Hizashi.

“And you, Mr. Yamada. You’ll have what appears to be two new caretakers.” She smiled, nodding to Nemuri who stood on Hizashi’s other side, squeezing his hand in her own. Hizashi grinned and leaned over to place a kiss to Nemuri’s temple, painting a faint blush on her cheeks.

“I’ll be just fine, ma’am. Thank you for taking care of me up until this point.” Chiyo thumped her cane on the floor.

“Well, you two boys are free to go. You have another chance to live life to the fullest.” She smiled gently at Shouta and Nemuri. “And now you have a second chance at love.” She turned to the door, but not before Shouta noticed her watery eyes. “I wish you both the best of luck.” And with that, she disappeared out the door, closing it softly behind her.

The four of them stared at each other for a moment, before Shouta moved to stand beside Toshinori, wrapping an arm around his thin waist, and turning his head to smile up into those bright blue eyes.

“What do you say we all go home?” he asked softly. Toshinori grinned, leaning down to place a kiss in between his eyes.

“Yes please.” 

Shouta wrapped his fingers in Toshinori’s jacket, pulling him down a little further into a searing kiss, the older man smiling against his lips. Hizashi made the most awful gagging sound and Nemuri laughed.

“For fuck’s sake get a room already!”

And Shouta had the good grace to flip him off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've finally joined the world of social media! Yay!
> 
> Feel free to yell at me on Twitter! @WritingWitch91
> 
> And even though this story is drawing to a close, don't worry. I'm not nearly finished with these two!


	9. And They Lived...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's going to be a time jump in this chapter. Just to clarify:
> 
> *** Everything that happens between these is in the past.

“Hizashi! Behind you!” Shouta yelled as he whipped around, the matching revolvers in his hands blazing as the bullets whizzed by the blond’s ear, hitting their marks just beyond Hizashi’s shoulder. The two thugs halted in midstride, then collapsed, blood slowly flowing from the bullet wounds in their hearts. Hizashi paused, turning to look at the fallen enemy that nearly took him out; he whirled his head back around to stare into the dark, narrow slits of Shouta’s eyes, a frown tugging at his lips.

“Damn it, Sho! You almost hit me!” Shouta shrugged nonchalantly as he reloaded.

“You’re not focused today, Zashi.” His voice was calm, betraying the chaos reigning around them, as he cocked his guns again.

“Oh, no shit Sherlock. I’ve got somewhere to be in an hour!” Hizashi growled, reloading his pistols as well. Shouta chuckled.

“Really. Is that today?”

Hizashi punched him. 

“You really ought to know what today is!” Hizashi nearly shouted, popping off a couple of rounds into a few more thugs that had appeared, seemingly out of thin air, muttering under his breath. “Fucking asshole.”

“I heard that.”

“Doesn’t mean it ain’t true!”

“Okay, you two fuckers need to shut the hell up and get back to it. I’m kicking ass alone over here,” a new voice chimed in, deep and terrifying, matching its owner perfectly. He stood nearly six and half feet tall, his bright red hair cut short against his head, light blue eyes sharp against tawny skin. He scowled, turning to smash his armored fist into a big guy that had materialized just behind him. The brute didn’t even flinch. Shouta rolled his eyes.

“Enji, duck,” he called lazily, pointing his gun and firing, striking the thug square in the middle of his forehead, thick crimson blood spurting out onto Enji’s navy tee shirt. He looked over at Shouta with disgust and opened his mouth to speak when Hizashi stepped between them, keeping his back to the bigger man.

“How many more are there Shouta?” he questioned, his emerald eyes serious. The dark-haired man glanced around, his onyx eyes calculating.

“I think that’s all of them actually. Enji!” he raised his voice, and the angry redhead huffed, stepping up behind Hizashi, his blue eyes cold. “Is there anywhere else for anyone to hide in here?” The bigger man shrugged, his eyes darting around fiercely, mentally counting the bodies strewn across the floor.

“No, what you see should be all that there is,” he muttered, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Shouta nodded, satisfied with his answer, his eyes meeting Hizashi’s again.

“Well then, let’s get out of here.” Shouta turned his back to the two men, starting to walk away. “Enji, think you can hotwire a car?” The bigger man gave a stiff nod.

“Yeah, that’s not a problem.” Shouta grinned, putting his revolvers away in their holsters hidden beneath his long black coat. He turned around to say something snarky to Hizashi when a gunshot rang out through the open warehouse.

There was the sound of cloth ripping, a dull thud and Shouta felt the breath leave his lungs as he was thrown backwards, the impact knocking him flat onto his back; even with his ears ringing, he heard Hizashi’s frantic scream. As he lay there dazed, he watched Hizashi turn and fire off all of the rounds in both of his guns at the shooter, who had been hiding on the second floor amongst the rubble; somehow, every bullet missed.

Enji immediately stepped protectively in front of Shouta, worry quickly replacing the irritation in his eyes; as he watched Hizashi race up the crumbling stairs towards the villain, Enji pulled a long rifle from the holster hooked to his back, took his time to aim, and fired. Thankfully, he was an excellent shot, and the thug fell limply from the second story onto the floor below.

Hizashi didn’t even stop to argue as he swung back down, hopping onto a large chunk of debris, and jumping the rest of the way to the floor, running over to kneel next to Shouta, an anxious look etched across his face.

“Sho? Are you ok?” he whispered, as Enji kept his rifle at the ready, his eyes quickly searching for any other stragglers. Shouta gasped in a breath, then groaned as his hand reached up to undo the top few buttons of his black shirt.

“Thank fuck for Kevlar” he grunted out, glancing down at the bullet lodged deep into the protective vest he wore around his chest. He groaned again, as Hizashi reached down to offer his hand to the fallen man.

“You mean, thank fuck for Nemuri. She is the one who gave you that vest, you know.” Hizashi smirked, his eyes sparkling with relief. Shouta clutched his armored chest, hissing as his fingers fluttered over the bullet hole.

“I’m going to have a bruise there. Toshi’s gonna kill me,” he groaned out as Hizashi pulled him to his feet, tucking his arm under Shouta’s shoulder blades to hold him steady. Enji led the way out of the crumbling warehouse.

“I’ll start up that SUV,” he grumbled, hurrying away as Hizashi and Shouta followed along slowly behind him. Hizashi’s eyes were laced with worry as he stared at his best friend, pain contorting his face.

“You sure you’re all right, Sho?” Shouta nodded.

“Yeah, just winded.” He groaned again as his arm slung lazily over Hizashi’s shoulder. “I’m getting too old for this.” The blond laughed, his voice echoing off the cement walls.

“You’re only thirty-two Sho. Just because you’re a few months older than me doesn’t mean you’re considered old.” Shouta rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, what’s that expression? ‘You’re only as old as you feel’?” He winced as he reached up, brushing his fingers over his aching chest again. “If that’s the case, I feel about eighty.” Hizashi laughed again, hugging Shouta a little more tightly to him.

“Would you two losers hurry up already?” Enji shouted from the driver’s seat of the shiny black SUV, its engine purring away. “Last I recall, Mr. Yamada had somewhere incredibly important to be in the very near future.”

“Sorry Enji,” both men spoke simultaneously, their voices contrite, as Hizashi helped Shouta up into the backseat, gently closing the door behind him. Shouta sagged against the seat, leaning over until his head was resting against the window. Wearily, he closed his eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.

And he dreamed, his mind taking him back through his memories from the last year.

 

***

 

The trip back to the hideout was uneventful for Shouta and Toshinori; a private car had come to pick them up from the hospital. Nemuri and Hizashi had decided to go on a date, not that either of them was surprised. 

As they sat together in the backseat of the car, both watching the scenery go by out the windows, Shouta slowly inched closer along the seat until his hip was pressed gently against Toshinori’s. The older man grinned, casually slinging his arm over Shouta’s shoulder; Shouta smiled as he rested his head on Toshinori’s chest.

“How are you feeling?” Shouta asked gently, his fingers gently caressing over where he knew Toshinori’s scar lay, just beneath his shirt. Toshinori smiled down at him, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Shouta’s wild dark hair.

“I’m fine sweetheart. I’m not in pain anymore.”

“I don’t think I ever thanked you for saving me,” Shouta said softly, his hand reaching for Toshinori’s. The older man chuckled.

“You never needed to thank me, Shouta. I was going to come get you no matter the cost.”

Shouta sighed, slowly turning his head up to place a gentle kiss to Toshinori’s sharp jawline.

“I love you, old man,” he murmured, before his lips were desperately suckling a bruise behind Toshinori’s ear, the older man whining softly, his bright blue eyes falling closed.

“Shouta…” Toshinori whimpered, as the car jerked to a stop. Shouta smirked and pulled away.

“We’re home.”

And as he slid out of the car, Shouta missed the glare Toshinori shot him.

As soon as they opened the door, they were greeted by a rather cheerful Kuugo and Jean, Takara snuggled happily into the broad-shouldered man’s arms, poor Jean standing awkwardly on crutches.

“Welcome home!”

Toshinori blushed bright pink and Shouta grinned, gently clasping the blond’s shaky hand.

“Thanks, you two. And thank you for taking care of Takara while I’ve been gone.” Kuugo smiled, happily stroking the black furball in his arms.

“Anytime, Shouta. It was a pleasure.”

Suddenly, Shouta felt Toshinori’s fingers tighten around his own, lightly pulling him until his back was against the blond’s thin chest. Shouta caught his breath at the strange signal.

“Well, I think I’d better get Toshi into bed. He’s had a long few weeks, and I’m sure he just wants to…rest,” Shouta said, his voice gradually tapering off. Kuugo chuckled and winked at him, shooing them down the hallway.

“Go on you two. We’ll hold down the fort until you both get settled in again.”

Shouta started as Toshinori gave him a firm push passed the brawny man, not letting up until he reached the door leading to Toshinori’s bedroom.

As soon as they entered and the door closed softly, Shouta gasped as he was shoved roughly against the door, Toshinori’s lips immediately crushing against his. Quickly, Toshinori slid his tongue into Shouta’s warm inviting mouth, his hands coming down to grip Shouta’s wrists, only to jerk them high above his head, pinning him even more tightly to the door. Shouta groaned, his tongue twining harshly against Toshinori’s, as the blond gripped his wrists with one huge hand, reaching his newly free one down to grab the hem of Shouta’s tee shirt, yanking it up to expose his smooth belly, long fingers brushing against the warm skin he discovered. Shouta whined, chasing Toshinori’s lips as he pulled away, a devilish smirk on his face. Before the younger man could say anything, Toshinori shoved the bottom of the tee shirt into Shouta’s mouth, effectively shutting him up; Shouta’s dark eyes were wide as he stared at Toshinori. The blond put a finger to his own lips, those shadowed blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Now, you know Kuugo and Jean are just outside. So, I need you to be quiet Shouta.” Toshinori’s voice rumbled, as Shouta wriggled a little in his grip. Toshinori leaned up even closer, pressing their clothed hips together and Shouta moaned, his eyes fluttering closed. Gently, Toshinori nipped at Shouta’s ear, whispering deep. “I’ve waited patiently for a month and now that I’m cleared and moderately healthy, I’m done waiting. You have teased and tortured me the entire time I was in the hospital and on the fucking car ride here, and now I’m going to take what’s mine.” Shouta’s breath caught, his eyes flicking back open to stare at Toshi’s sexy smirk. “I’m going to fuck you, Shouta Aizawa. Is that acceptable to you?”

Shouta nodded frantically, biting down on the shirt in his mouth as Toshinori ran his fingers through the patch of dark curls adorning his chest. Quickly running his palm down Shouta’s chest and toned abdomen, Toshinori grinned as his fingers deftly undid the clasp holding Shouta’s jeans together, gently pushing them down off the younger man’s sharp hips and letting them pool around Shouta’s ankles.

Shouta’s dark eyes blew wide open and he groaned around the tee shirt as Toshinori slowly ran a single finger along the growing bulge in his boxers. And when Toshinori’s long fingers swiftly passed the waistband of Shouta’s boxers to grip his fully hardened cock, Shouta’s head tipped back against the door, his eyes squeezing tightly shut.  
He felt Toshinori release his hold on his wrists, running his hand down Shouta’s side to tightly grip his hip, his fingertips playing with the elastic band, before yanking the offending material down to his thighs.

Shouta gasped, his eyes snapping back open as he felt a long warm tongue slowly slide up the underside of his cock, before lazily swirling around the tip. Without thinking, Shouta reached down, burying his hands deep into the wild golden locks, teeth clenching around the tee shirt in his mouth, muffling the whine rumbling up from the back of his throat. Toshinori chuckled, the vibrations jolting through Shouta’s cock, causing him to twitch and involuntarily slam his head back against the door.

“Now, what did I say about being quiet, Shouta,” Toshinori scolded softly, his warm breath ghosting across Shouta’s cock, before wrapping his arms around the younger man’s waist, effortlessly throwing him over his shoulder, as Shouta spit the material out of his mouth with a sharp protest and wriggled in his grasp, his hands scrambling to tightly grip the back of the blond’s oversized shirt. Toshinori chuckled at his rather nice view of Shouta’s bare ass, turning his head ever so slightly to just barely graze his teeth over the soft skin, as he made his way over to the huge bed against the opposite wall.

“Toshinori…your wound.” Shouta whispered, concern lacing the edges of his voice, and the blond laughed softly.

“Don’t worry about me, kid. I’m fine.”

With a grunt, Toshinori rather unceremoniously dropped Shouta onto his back on the bed, immediately flipping him over onto his stomach and maneuvered him around until his feet just barely reached the floor, his huge hands squeezing the muscle and fat of Shouta’s perfect ass cheeks. Shouta couldn’t stop the yelp that tore out of his lips as Toshinori gave his ass a stinging slap, his hands instantly flying up to cover his mouth, muffling the sounds he couldn’t seem to control. Toshinori chuckled darkly above him, as he leaned down until his lips were mere centimeters from Shouta’s ear, his own clothed erection pressing nicely in between Shouta’s cheeks.

“You’re still too loud, kid,” Toshinori growled before nipping sharply at Shouta’s earlobe. The younger man’s eyes widened at the squeak he muffled behind his hands, completely unaware he could produce those kinds of noises, and Toshinori purred happily.

“Good boy.”

Toshinori drew away slowly, kneeling behind Shouta, leisurely pulling his boxers the rest of the way down his long, toned legs, and the blond hummed in approval. Softly, he pressed his lips to the back of Shouta’s thigh, his voice deep and commanding.

“Spread your legs for me.”

And Shouta didn’t hesitate to obey, his stance opening, only stopping at the pull from his dropped jeans still clinging to his ankles. Toshinori grinned, his fingertips lightly dancing over the curve of Shouta’s ass, skittering down his thick thighs, and back up again. He chuckled softly as he heard the younger man stifle a giggle, his lower half twitching, trying to squirm away from Toshinori’s curious fingers.

“Oh, Shouta are you ticklish?”

A bright red blush crept of the back of Shouta’s neck as he nodded, another desperate whine breaking free as Toshinori’s hands clamped tightly on his ass cheeks, slowly spreading them apart. He heard the older man groan behind him.

“I’ll definitely remember that, for later,” he said wickedly, then added, “I may have a few kinks I enjoy. I do hope you don’t mind too much.”

Shouta was about to ask what he meant when a hot swipe of a tongue circled his hole, and he keened, a loud moan bubbling out of his mouth as his hands moved to tightly grip the sheets. He yelped as Toshinori firmly slapped his ass cheek again.

“Pull your shirt off and bite down on it. Now.” Toshinori growled. Shouta trembled at the deepness of his voice, instantly yanking his shirt over his head, and cramming a handful of the dark material into his mouth. He peered back through his long hair at the older man, his onyx eyes widening at the impish grin on Toshinori’s lips.

Not even a second later, the blond’s tongue was once more lapping at Shouta’s hole, more insistently this time, pressing deeper and deeper, until Shouta was writhing on the bed, his cries muffled as his hands tightly gripped the sheets. Toshinori’s hands spread his cheeks wider, his tongue slowly slipping through the tight ring of muscle and Shouta nearly shot off the bed, his back arching, a stifled scream ripping through his lips. Toshinori hummed happily as his long tongue slowly fucked Shouta open, the younger man beneath him squirming and thrashing, his hands clawing desperately at the bedding.

“Hmm, your hands seem to need something to do, Shouta,” Toshinori whispered thoughtfully, as his thumb absentmindedly circled Shouta’s saliva-slickened entrance. Shouta stilled at his words, his breathing ragged, a light sheen of sweat glistening across his brow. With a sly smirk, Toshinori slowly removed his hands from Shouta’s ass, the younger man whining high behind his makeshift gag at the loss of contact.

“I want you to hold yourself open for me, Shouta. My hands have better things to do.” Toshinori chuckled as Shouta’s head whipped around, his dark eyes huge and glassy with arousal. The blond grabbed Shouta’s hips tightly in his hands, pulling him slightly away from the bed, his fully hardened cock bobbing freely between his trembling legs, and Toshinori purred at the sight; it was then he noticed Shouta hadn’t moved an inch, his hands still tightly fisting the sheets. “Shouta. Do what I told you,” he growled, swatting Shouta’s ass once again, and the younger man whimpered, his cheeks painted bright pink. 

Slowly, Shouta released the bedding, his face and shoulders dropping into the mattress as his hands slid down his sides, his palms firmly pressing into the soft skin of his own ass; he whined softly as he reluctantly spread his cheeks apart, baring himself for the blond kneeling contentedly behind him.

Shouta gasped, sinking his teeth even deeper into the shirt as he felt Toshinori gently grip his cock in one huge hand, free fingertips skittering up and down his long legs. Shouta shivered as he felt Toshinori’s warm breath ghost over his twitching hole, and the blond chuckled deeply.

“Shouta, I need you more open than this.”

Shouta groaned, his face flushing even more deeply crimson as his fingers trembled where they lay against his soft skin. Suddenly, his breath caught in his throat as he felt Toshinori’s warm tongue gently pry one of his fingers from his ass, suckling it slowly, until the younger man was whimpering, his aching cock held in the blond’s firm grip. Toshinori slowly released his finger with a soft pop, and immediately began swirling his tongue around the same finger on his opposite hand, and Shouta tensed, the anticipation and arousal digging into his mind.

Toshinori felt him stiffen, and gave his cock a gentle tug, sighing softly at the quiet moan spilling unbidden from Shouta’s lips. Slowly pulling his tongue away from Shouta’s now dripping fingers, Toshinori leisurely stroked the back of the younger man’s thigh.

“Come now, Shouta. Open yourself up for me,” he whispered, his teeth gently nipping at the curve of Shouta’s ass, bringing forth another strangled whimper. But this time, Shouta did as he’d been told, slowly pushing one saliva slickened finger inside himself, a sharp gasp leaving his lips at the sensation, and Toshinori hummed softly in approval, giving his cock another stroke.

“Wonderful. You’re doing so well for me, Shouta,” Toshinori crooned, his hand slowly pumping Shouta, as the younger man trembled above him. The blond slowly ran his long tongue up Shouta’s thigh. “Can you fit the second finger, my love?” Shouta took a shaky breath, before nodding hesitantly, his finger slowly sliding halfway out, before sliding back in alongside the second; Shouta’s back arched as he stiffened again, and Toshinori quickly ran his hand gently down his shaking thigh, making soft shushing sounds.

“It’s all right, Shouta. Take your time. Enjoy this,” the blond whispered against the skin of Shouta’s ass, and the younger man visibly relaxed, his fingers slowly pushing in further, before gradually pulling apart. Immediately, Toshinori’s tongue dove back between his spread fingers, and Shouta screamed, the sound hardly muffled by the tee shirt. But Toshinori didn’t mind; he was far too busy lapping hungrily at Shouta’s hole, while the younger man buried his face in the bedsheets, his thighs trembling, a few pearls of precum dripping from his aching cock onto Toshinori’s slowly pumping fist, his orgasm nearing at a frightening rate.

Suddenly, the door clicked open, and Shouta jerked his head up to stare into the horrified face of his best friend.

“Oh, HOLY SHIT, SHO!” Hizashi screeched as his bright emerald eyes took in the scene before him, and Shouta groaned deep, his eyes rolling back into his head as Toshinori pumped him right into an orgasm, ropes of thick, hot semen painting his stomach and dripping down the blond’s hand. Toshinori growled as he felt Shouta spasm around his tongue, continuing to lick and probe until Shouta’s tremors had calmed some; only then did he slowly pull away, sitting back on his heels as he tried to catch his breath, a cough working its way up the back of his throat.

As Shouta’s legs gave out from under him and he collapsed to his knees, he heard Hizashi yelling “NO DON’T COME IN HERE, THEY’RE NOT ASLEEP, NEMURI!” and the door slamming hard behind him.

Shouta startled when he heard Toshinori laughing behind him, shivering slightly as he felt the blond’s long arms wrap softly around his waist, his chin resting in the crook of his bare shoulder.

“I think we need to find our own place, Shouta.”

Shouta huffed out a soft laugh, turning to place a gentle kiss to Toshinori’s flushed cheek.

“I couldn’t agree more.”

*

And a few weeks later found Toshinori and Shouta lifting boxes out of the back of a moving van, their new residence encompassing the entire top floor of a small apartment building. The neighborhood was quiet and peaceful, just a few blocks away from their former home, which meant they were never too far away from their friends.

Shouta and Hizashi huffed and puffed their way up several flights of stairs, carrying the couch Toshinori insisted they purchase, on the basis of ‘every home needs somewhere you can prop your feet up’. Shouta flopped over the arm of the couch as Hizashi gently set down his end on the landing of the stairs.

“There’s too many stairs, Zashi,” he muttered, his face buried in the dark leather cushions, and the blond chuckled, his long silken hair falling softly over his tinted glasses.

“It’s just one more flight, Sho, and then I think we’re done. Just gotta unpack everything and get rid of the boxes,” he said, shoving his glasses up until they perched on top of his long locks, before falling backward over the opposite arm from his best friend. Shouta grunted, wriggling around until he was on his back, his long legs dangling, his head situated right next to Hizashi’s. Both of them stared up at the ceiling between the flights of stairs in content silence for a few moments, before Hizashi spoke quietly.

“Hey Sho?”

“Yeah?”

“What are you gonna do now? Now that Toshi’s better and all, and there isn’t really a mob anymore to worry about, what will you do?” He chuckled softly. “I know you went back to the coffee shop a couple weeks ago, but is that really what you want to do forever?” He heard Shouta huff out a sigh.

“No, I have a plan.” Hizashi’s ears perked up and he turned to face Shouta, their noses inches apart. The blond grinned, his emerald eyes bright.

“Really? Everything legal this time I hope.” Shouta reached back with his hand and whacked Hizashi upside the head, causing both of them to chuckle.

“Well…it’s all mostly legal.”

“Mostly? Sho, it’s either legal or it’s not.”

“Yeah, I know,” Shouta sighed out, throwing his arm over his tired eyes. “I signed up for some classes at the university a couple miles away.”

Hizashi shrieked, immediately clapping his hands over his mouth in shock. Shouta lowered his arm for a split second, revealing one glaring obsidian eye.

“R-Really Sho? You’re going to school? What for? How long will it take you? What kind of degree- “

“HIZASHI!”

“Sorry.”

Shouta sighed and moved his hand, lightly running his fingers through Hizashi’s long tresses, earning himself a delighted little purr, and he smiled softly.

“I’m going to study to be a teacher, Zashi.” He felt the blond shift slightly, but he heard only silence, so he continued. “Toshi taught for a lot of years, and he really enjoyed it. But he can’t really do that anymore.” Still silence, and Shouta was thankful for Hizashi’s ability to listen. “I think his mentor dying really got to him, so I want to do something for him.” He heard Hizashi gasp, but he continued on. “And besides, I’m really good with kids.” Finally, he heard a chuckle, and he felt Hizashi’s fingers carding through his long wild hair.

“Yeah, you are good with kids, Sho. And that all sounds great!” Shouta felt Hizashi lay back down beside him once again. “I’m really proud of you.” Shouta sighed, finally pulling his arm away from his eyes and staring into Hizashi’s bright green orbs.

“But there’s something I have to do. And I need your help, Zashi.” The blond groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Somehow I knew that couldn’t possibly be it. What else is there, Sho?” Shouta took a deep breath.

“I need to eliminate what’s left of All For One’s mob. I know there’s still plenty of them out there, and until they’re gone, Toshi and I aren’t safe.” Hizashi scowled but didn’t say anything. Shouta sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. “Please help me find them, Zashi. And besides,” he smirked, knowing this would be his trump card to get Hizashi completely on board, “didn’t you have a guy save you, that you said you’d like to find and thank?” Hizashi’s mouth dropped open, his green eyes blown wide.

“Really Sho? You had to bring him into it?” He huffed out a sigh, sitting up slightly, his long legs dangling over the arm of the couch, a scowl tightening his handsome features. “Fine. I’ll help you. But only to rescue him. And besides,” his voice softened, a small smile curling his lips upwards, “I kinda owe it to the guy.”

“Well,” Shouta grunted, as he lazily sat up, stretching his arms high over his head, “that’s settled. Now let’s get this fucking couch into my new apartment.”

*

And so, they slowly eliminated the rest of the mob, methodically searching through old hideouts and storming the new ones. Toshinori helped out as best as he could with what he could remember, and Shouta and Hizashi would sneak in, killing anyone who opposed them. Most surrendered, willing to give up a life of crime, but others wouldn’t dream of it, fighting the two men the entire way.

It was during one such raid that they discovered Hizashi’s savior, Endeavor, whose real name was Enji Todoroki, badly beaten and barely alive. Hizashi was furious, and singlehandedly emptied out that warehouse of thugs, while Shouta was left to bandage and half-carry half-walk Enji to their waiting car.

Needless to say, they didn’t go on any raids for quite some time.

Once Enji was fully healed, he quickly became a familiar face in the hideout, taking over Shouta’s old room. Kuugo and Jean quickly adapted to the newcomer, however put off they were by his unpleasant attitude. Nemuri still lived with them, but Enji never dared to go near her: Hizashi made it abundantly clear that she was HIS woman, and Enji respected that.

But after one raid left Hizashi with a bullet hole in his shoulder, Nemuri put her foot down in a rightful panic, insisting that they all wear Kevlar vests if they were going to continue this madness. Shouta and Hizashi readily agreed. Toshinori informed them that there was only two more hideouts to go, and they planned out when they were going on their final two raids.

 

***

 

“Sho?”

Shouta grunted annoyedly, jerking away from the gentle hand on his shoulder, and tucking his chin deeper into his aching chest. He heard a chuckle from somewhere beside him.

“Sho. Wake up. We’re there.” At that, Shouta’s eyes flew open, only to immediately squint against the bright sunlight.

“Where’s there?” he asked, still in a sleepy daze. Hizashi chuckled again, running his fingers through Shouta’s tangled hair.

“Shouta, remember what today is?”

And as all of his memories faded away with his dream, he remembered.

*

Twenty minutes later, and Shouta looked reasonably presentable. His hair had been carefully brushed and slicked back into a low ponytail, his long coat and torn shirt had been replaced with a deep black suit, and an emerald tie, which he kept pulling at uncomfortably. Hizashi gently reached back and slapped his hand away, causing a soft cough from Toshinori, who was standing just in front of Hizashi, his thin frame also adorned with a jet-black suit, his tie a beautiful swirl of jade and cream. Shouta couldn’t stop the bashful smile as he stared at the man he so adored, his wild golden locks also pulled back into a knot at the base of his skull.

Soft music started playing from somewhere behind Shouta, and everyone turned to look at the door, which opened slowly, and Hizashi gasped; Shouta knew he had to have tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, and he looked over at Toshi, smiling softly in surprise at the teary blond.

Nemuri practically floated down the aisle, her long silken dress swishing gracefully as she walked, the white roses in her hands completely overshadowed by her natural beauty. Her long dark hair was pinned high on her head and a trailing veil floated out behind her shoulders. Bright blue eyes looked up and caught Hizashi’s, and she smiled, her cheeks tinted the faintest shade of pink. Naomasa was escorting her, his dark eyes full of unspilled tears, and Nemuri laughed softly, gently resting her head on his shoulder as they walked.

Before long, she stood before Hizashi, smiling so happily Shouta thought her face would stay that way forever. They took each other’s hands, said their vows, with a lot of crying on Hizashi’s part, exchanged rings and promised that they would live happily ever after together.

Shouta couldn’t help laughing when Nemuri took it upon herself to dip Hizashi into a deep, passionate kiss that had the crowd roaring and cheering; Kuugo was beside himself with tears, and Toshi wasn’t much better off.

And the happy couple walked arm in arm back down the aisle, sharing sweet kisses and rubbing noses, until Hizashi picked Nemuri up and threw her over his shoulder, racing down the rest of the aisle and out the door, Nemuri shrieking with laughter, her fists pounding lightly on the blond’s sturdy back. Shouta’s eyes involuntarily shot over to Toshi, those bright blue eyes meeting his, and the blond smiled gently, happiness painting his handsome features.

And Shouta suddenly had the most wonderful, crazy, awesome idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took me so long to post! Life has a bad habit of getting in my way!
> 
> Only one more chapter to go =)
> 
> Feel free to yell at me on Twitter!
> 
> @WritingWitch91


	10. Happily Ever After

The sun was just setting beyond the cityscape, painting the sky in rich gold streaks and soft pink hues, when Shouta finally arrived home. Being the kindhearted man that he was, he had decided to stay behind and help Naomasa clean up after the ceremony, before making a quick stop on his way back to the apartment.

The skyline was beautiful through the huge bay window, as Shouta softly closed the apartment door behind him, toeing off his uncomfortable dress shoes as he tugged his tie out of its tight knot, slowly pulling his hair from the ponytail to let it trail freely over his shoulders.

A small mewl sounded from his feet, and he grinned, taking the tiny calico kitten into his arms, and nuzzling his nose into her soft fur. Takara noticed Shouta’s attention, from her sprawled position on the back of the couch, giving the dark-haired man a lazy yawn, before plopping her head back onto her paws.

“Hello, Takara,” he called softly; the black cat snorted slightly at his voice, her ears pricking forward with mild interest. The little bundle of fur in his arms softly bumped her head against his chest, purring up at him, her tiny golden eyes closing as he tickled her under her chin. “And hello to you, Hime, my little princess.” Her purrs grew louder as he padded through the apartment, searching for a certain blond. He buried his nose in Hime’s fur again, his voice barely a whisper. “Now, where’s Toshi, little one?” The kitten let out a whiny little mew, before reaching up to lick the tip of Shouta’s nose, her paws lightly kneading his forearm. Shouta peeked into the bedroom, taking note of Toshi’s suit, hanging neatly on the door handle of the closet, but the room was otherwise unoccupied.

Shouta was about to give in to his growing concern and call out for his boyfriend when he heard the sound of running water and soft humming, and he sighed in relief. Giving Hime a kiss between her twitchy ears, he gently dropped her to the floor, shrugging out of his suit coat and hanging it on the hook on the back of the bedroom door. Softly, he stepped down the hallway, sneaking a peek through the small crack in the bathroom door.

Toshi had apparently just slid into a bathtub full of steaming, fragrant water, his arms propped up against the sides, eyes closed softly in bliss, completely unaware of the younger man staring in at him. Shouta couldn’t help grinning as he slowly began unbuttoning his dress shirt, wincing as his elbow accidentally bumped the door handle, causing a quiet squeak to break the silence.

Toshi’s blue eyes snapped open and he immediately reached behind him, pulling a revolver from somewhere behind the bathtub, his eyes narrowing fiercely as he aimed the gun at the crack in the door, his thumb instantly cocking the hammer back.

“Whoever you are, I’m not afraid to shoot,” Toshi called deeply, his voice menacing. He huffed in a short gasp and visibly relaxed at the dark chuckle from the other side as the door was pushed wide open to reveal his boyfriend, white button-up shirt completely open and his long black hair falling gently around his broad shoulders. His tie was slung lazily around his collar and his lips were turned up into a smirk. 

“Old habits die hard, old man?”

Toshi sighed, putting the safety back on his revolver and returning it to its hidden location, his arms flopping tiredly on the sides of the tub. “You’re a damn brat,” he muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

A moment later, he cracked an eye open when he heard the jingle of Shouta’s trousers sliding along his long legs to the floor, a smile gracing his lips as he took in the view of the younger man’s boxer-clad ass on display as he bent over at the waist to pick his pants up and hang them on the bathroom door handle. He hummed softly as Shouta slowly slid his dress shirt off his shoulders, and let it drop softly to the floor. The younger man glanced over his shoulder, giving the blond a suggestive wink.

“Like what you see?” he asked softly, his fingertips sliding along the waistband of his boxers, teasing them over his sharp hipbones. Toshi licked his lips as he nodded, and Shouta laughed, yanking the material down to his ankles and unceremoniously stepping out of them. Toshi chuckled from behind him, the sound choking off as Shouta turned around.

“Oh, Shouta,” Toshi breathed, concern creasing his face as his eyes landed on the large purple bruise on the younger man’s shoulder, “what happened? Are you hurt?” Shouta shook his head as he stepped into the scalding water, the blond shifting his long legs to accommodate the newcomer.

“No, I’m all right. Thank god for Kevlar though,” he winced as his fingers brushed over the bruise. Slowly, he sank deeper into the water, leaning his back against Toshi’s thin chest, the older man gently wrapping his arms around his tired boyfriend’s waist and resting his chin on Shouta’s shoulder. “Just got hit as we were leaving. Enji got him though.”

“So…does that mean…” Shouta smiled gently at the question Toshi couldn’t quite ask.

“Yeah. That was the last of them.” A giggle escaped his lips as Toshi planted a soft kiss on his cheek, hugging Shouta more tightly to him.

“Thank heavens,” the blond breathed out, his voice almost a whisper. “Now, I suppose we can get on with our lives, without the fear of being recognized every time we decide to go out.” Shouta nodded, his dark hair flopping into his face.

“I’ve decided to take a few more classes so I can graduate earlier. Pl-ooh…” Shouta’s voice broke off as Toshi softly ran his fingertips through his wild mane of hair, pulling it away from his face. The younger man nearly purred as he felt Toshi weaving the long strands into a loose braid. The blond chuckled deeply at his reaction.

“Go on, Shouta. What were you saying?”

“Oh, I was offered a teaching position for after I graduate,” his voice softened at Toshi’s quiet gasp, “at UA High.” The blond’s fingers immediately stilled in his hair, and Shouta whirled around to sit awkwardly on his knees, water splashing out of the tub, soaking the floor.

Toshi was shaking, tears pooling in his bright blue eyes, and Shouta immediately threw his arms around the older man’s shaking shoulders. Toshi sniffled into his hair, his voice breaking softly.

“You…you know t-that’s my old school, S-Shouta.” The younger man nodded slowly, as Toshi wrapped his arms around Shouta’s waist again, pressing his lips to his boyfriend’s forehead, a single tear escaping down his cheek. “W-Why there, Shouta? You could f-find a t-teaching position anywhere.”

“But I want to teach where you did.” His grip tightened slightly, as he rested his cheek against Toshi’s shoulder, his eyes slipping closed. “I need to continue what you started. Those kids need to be kept safe, and who better to do it than an ex-mobster.” Toshi chuckled softly against Shouta’s hair, his grip tightening slightly. Slowly, Shouta lifted his head until he was staring directly into Toshi’s watery blue eyes, one damp hand sliding up to gently cup the blond’s cheek.

“Shouta,” Toshi whispered, his eyes falling, “why do you do so much for me?” Shouta was taken aback for a second, but the blond wasn’t finished. “You took care of me while I was in the hospital over a year ago, you’ve eliminated an entire mob faction in the city, and now…” Toshi’s hands softly wandered over the curve of Shouta’s spine, around to his toned torso, long fingers gliding through curls of dark chest hair. “Now, you’re going to be taking over my old teaching position.” Toshi leaned forward, his eyes slipping closed as he pressed his lips to Shouta’s forehead once more. “What in the world did I do to deserve you?” One of Toshi’s damp hands slid up to gently caress Shouta’s scar underneath his eye, his voice soft. “What can I do to make you as happy as you’ve made me?”

Shouta sucked in a deep breath at those words, his mind whirling. Abruptly pulling away from the blond, Shouta stood as water ran down his legs, stepping out of the tub and padding over to his dress pants hanging on the door handle. Toshi’s eyes were wide, an emotion he didn’t dare suppress racing around in his mind.

“Shouta? What are you-“

“Toshinori.”

Shouta’s voice was deep, a rich calmness permeating his normal gruffness, as his hands dug around in his pockets. Water was running off his ankles, pooling on the floor, but Shouta was beyond the point of caring. After a moment, his hands stilled, his back still to his boyfriend.

“Toshinori Yagi, you already have made me the happiest man alive, just by being with me.” He heard Toshi take a deep breath, and he continued, his voice soft. “You took me in when I had nowhere left to run. You cared for me when I was sick, even though you didn’t have to. You offered your friendship, even when I pushed you away.” Toshi chuckled, and Shouta couldn’t help the shy smile that lit up his face as he glanced over his shoulder. “You were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for me, Toshi. You came and rescued me when you could have simply walked away.” 

Shouta finally turned back toward Toshi, his hands gently cradling a small velvet box, and Toshi’s blue eyes grew wide. “I am the one who is not worthy of your love and devotion, yet here I am. You deserve someone who adores you and worships you for the wonderful man that you are, and no matter how much I try, I feel like I will never be good enough for you. But, I swear to you, right here and now, that I’ll never stop trying.” Slowly, Shouta stepped back toward the tub, softly dropping down onto one knee, and Toshi let out a choked sob, his hands coming up to clamp tightly over his mouth. “I’m not perfect. I think you might already know this.” He smiled when he heard a soft chuckle from behind Toshi’s long fingers. “But, no matter what, I will always love you. So, Toshinori Yagi,” Shouta’s eyes sparkled as he cracked the lid on the box, and Toshi sobbed even harder, tears cascading down his cheeks, “would you be willing to spend the rest of your life with me?” Toshi’s shoulders shook, and Shouta leaned towards him, using his free hand to tilt his chin up, bright blue eyes meeting onyx, and Shouta smiled softly. “Will you marry me, old man?”

And Toshi nodded, his hands instantly seeking Shouta’s long hair, pulling him forward to press their lips together in a desperate kiss. Tears dripped off Toshi’s chin into the rapidly cooling bathwater as they separated; his big blue eyes glanced down at the ring nestled in the black box, and Toshi caught his breath.

It was a solid gold band, except for a thin line of tiny blue gemstones set in a circle around the middle. Slowly, he reached out a damp hand and shakily touched the ring.

“Will you put it on me, Shouta?” he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion, and the younger man nodded, slipping the ring out of the box and taking his boyfriend’s trembling hand. Slowly, he slipped it over his knuckles, admiring the perfect fit; it was as though the ring had been made specifically for Toshi. The blond smiled, as he twisted his hand back and forth, admiring the gleam and the sparkles from the gems in the bathroom light.

“What kind of stones are they, Shouta?” he asked curiously, his blue eyes bright, and Shouta grinned, standing slowly and setting the box on the bathroom counter.

“Blue diamonds.” Toshi’s eyes cut over to him, and Shouta laughed. “Only the best for you, my Toshi.” He settled himself on the side of the tub, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck, a flush creeping up his cheeks. “Do you like it?”

His answer came in the form of the blond wrapping an arm around his waist, dragging him back into the bath with a loud yelp and a huge splash, sending sudsy water flying in all directions. Toshi held him tightly against his scarred chest, his lips placing ravenous kisses everywhere his mouth could reach.

“I love it, Shouta. Very much.” He whispered deeply into the younger man’s ear, and Shouta shivered. “But,” Toshi grinned against his boyfriend, no his fiancé’s, hair, “I love you more than anything you could ever give me. You’re perfect just the way you are, and I wouldn’t have you any other way.” Shouta purred happily in his arms, his hands coming up to gently graze over the ring shining on Toshi’s finger.

Suddenly, a thought popped into his head and he groaned, slipping lower into the water. Toshi frowned down at the mass of inky hair.

“Shouta? What’s wrong?”

The younger man’s words were lost to the water, bubbles forming around his lips, and Toshi laughed.

“Come again?” Slowly, Shouta sat up enough so he wasn’t breathing water, his voice deep and gruff.

“You know we’ll have to tell Hizashi and Nemuri soon. They’re going to flip the fuck out.”

Toshi threw his head back with laughter, pulling Shouta more tightly to him. The younger man couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he tilted his face up, his lips softly pecking Toshi’s chin. The blond gazed down at him with all the love his heart could hold, before their lips connected in perfect harmony.

The bathwater grew cold as the two lovers sat and discussed their new future together, and neither one seemed to mind in the slightest.

 

***

 

“Sho, stop pulling it! It looks fine!” Hizashi’s frantic voice rang out in the small hotel room, his hands desperately trying to retie the silken black tie wrapped around a scowling Shouta’s neck.

“Why the hell do I have to wear a tie? You and Toshi both know how much I hate getting dressed up.” Shouta growled, his hands raking roughly through his wild hair, fluffing it up more than normal. Hizashi looked up at him, emerald eyes bright, his glasses perched on top of his neatly brushed blond hair. His lips quirked up into a grin as he finished tying Shouta’s tie.

“But Sho, you look amazing. Plus, you only get married once! You gotta look good for hubby-to-be.” He winked at his scowling best friend. Shouta rolled his eyes as he turned to the mirror hanging on the wall.

“Where’s Nemuri?”

“With Toshi,” Hizashi took his place right beside Shouta, staring happily at his reflection in the mirror. “She was an absolute mess this morning, so I knew she’d want to fuss over him for awhile before she came to see you.” Shouta nodded, as there was a soft knock on the door. Shouta turned as the door slowly cracked open, Nemuri’s face slowly poking into the room, her eyes red and puffy. Fresh tears gathered in the corners of her dark blue eyes as she took in Shouta’s tuxedo-clad appearance.

“Oh Shouta, sweetie, you look wonderful!” she rasped out, puffing her cheeks out a bit as her gaze came to rest on Shouta’s hair. “Ooh, but I need to fix your hair. You can’t get married to my sweet Toshi looking like a hobo!” Slowly, she pushed the door all the way open, revealing her floor-length sapphire dress and full, rounded belly. Shouta finally smiled as Hizashi strode over to his wife, whisking her over to the bed to sit comfortably while the groom dragged a chair over in front of her. After Shouta finally plopped down in the chair, Nemuri gently ran her fingers through his mass of tangled locks, combing them back into a low ponytail at the base of his skull.

“So, how far along are you again, Nemuri?” he asked softly, “I can’t keep it straight in my head.” The mother-to-be chuckled, and Hizashi grinned, staring down at his beautiful wife and happy best friend.

“Thirty-eight weeks. Our little girl will be here in a couple more weeks!” she said, excitement clear in her voice. Hizashi cleared his throat softly.

“Sweetie, we don’t know it’s a girl for sure. It could still be a boy.” Nemuri positively pouted, throwing a glare Hizashi’s way.

“It IS a girl. I’ve been to enough doctor’s appointments and ultrasounds by now. They’re positive it’s a girl, Hizashi Yamada!” she growled, and her husband stepped away with a laugh. Shouta chuckled, his hair now impeccably combed through and tamed into a neat tail.

“Have you chosen a name yet?” he asked, fiddling with the rose boutonniere on his lapel. Nemuri and Hizashi shared a look that wasn’t lost on Shouta, his eyebrows furrowing in worry. “What? What’s wrong?” Hizashi took a deep breath, a small smile creeping over his face, his arm wrapping gently around Nemuri’s shoulders.

“We have a name picked out, Sho,” he paused and Nemuri smiled up at him, “but we wanted to ask her godfathers’ approval before we make it official.” Shouta’s eyes narrowed at the statement.

“Who’s her godfather going to be?”

Hizashi sighed in exasperation, and Nemuri laughed, rubbing her belly happily.

“She’s going to have two, Shouta!” Nemuri exclaimed with a giggle, and Shouta’s dark eyes widened in surprise.

“You mean…“

“Yagi’s already agreed, quite tearfully I might add.” Nemuri smiled softly, and beckoned Shouta closer. He shuffled towards the bed, his cheeks flaming. She reached out, taking one of his hands in hers and placing it gently on her baby bump. “So, what do you say Shouta?” She glanced up at Hizashi, who nodded, tears sparkling in his jade eyes. “Are you willing to be our little Ochako’s godfather?” 

At the name spoken, Shouta choked in a breath, shock radiating across his face, tears pricking the corners of his onyx eyes.

“Y-You’re naming h-her O-Ochako?” he whispered thickly, and Nemuri squeezed his hand softly.

“Yes. We decided together. I never got to meet the sweet little girl you boys were so fond of.” Her eyes were bright with her own tears, and Hizashi sniffled. “We wanted her memory to live on, even though she couldn’t. This was the best way to honor her memory, in our opinion.” Shouta smiled, tears streaking down his cheeks as he affectionately rubbed Nemuri’s belly, his breath catching as he felt a tiny flutter against his palm. His eyes immediately shot back up to Nemuri’s and she smiled. “Oh, did she kick?” Shouta nodded, his eyes wide as he smiled down at her belly. “Are you okay with her name? If you’re not, we can change it.” Nemuri said softly, as the little one kicked again. Shouta couldn’t wipe the grin off his face if he tried.

“Please don’t change it. It’s perfect.” He tickled the tiny indention of a foot protruding from Nemuri’s belly. “Ochako Yamada,” he spoke softly, “I bet you’re going to be a little heartbreaker when you grow up. You’re going to have your mommy’s good looks and your daddy’s craziness.” Hizashi softly laid his hand on Shouta’s shoulder and squeezed. “And you’re going to be a godpapa’s girl, aren’t you?” Nemuri chuckled.

“Oh, she’s going to be attached to you and Toshi once she makes her entrance into the world.” Nemuri sighed tiredly, as she grunted, trying to push herself off the bed. Hizashi hurried to help her, as did Shouta. “But, right now,” she grinned up at Shouta, her eyes bright, “don’t you have a wedding to get to, and a man to marry?”

 

*

 

The wedding took place in a private conservatory, flowers and greenery surrounding the guests in a lush, warm atmosphere. The sun was nearly set, the sky through the glass streaked in scarlet and violet hues; a couple of stars even decided to make an early appearance, twinkling and shimmering in the nearly inky sky. Hundreds of candles in shades of crimson and sapphire were lit in every available space not occupied by vegetation. And from somewhere in the foliage, soft violin music began to play, signaling the start of the ceremony.

Shouta took a deep breath as he started his walk down the aisle, Hizashi at his side, his black tuxedo almost matching the night sky. His best friend gently placed a hand on his trembling shoulder; Shouta smiled softly at Hizashi, his heartbeat quickening with every step he took.

Naomasa was waiting for them, standing tall and proud underneath a massive wisteria tree, the light lavender blooms hanging only a couple feet over his head. Shouta took his place on one side of the detective, Hizashi a step below him, and he felt his heart hammering away in his chest as he laid eyes on the pair coming down the aisle towards him.

Nemuri was escorting Toshinori down the aisle, her long dress swishing around her legs, a corsage placed on the wrist she held demurely over her belly.

But Shouta’s sole focus was on his fiancé.

Toshinori had opted to wear a white tuxedo, the bright creamy color suiting his long, lanky frame. His wild blond hair was tamed into a low knot at the base of his skull, his bangs flopping free over his forehead. A sapphire bow tie was wrapped neatly around his throat, and Shouta swallowed thickly. The blond’s hips sashayed in time to the music, and Nemuri held onto his arm gently, tears already pricking her blue eyes.

A few seconds later, though it felt like hours to Shouta, the man he loved so dearly stood before him, his blue eyes wide and sparkling with happiness. Shouta reached out to clasp his fiancé’s hands in his own, grinning evilly as he yanked the taller man down into a searing kiss, catching the older man off guard. That had the audience roaring with laughter; Shouta could make out Kuugo’s hearty laugh from the front row, and Enji even cracked a smile at the sappy show of affection. Shouta grinned against Toshi’s lips, even as he heard Naomasa weakly protesting the order of things. Slowly, he pulled away, onyx eyes dancing in the candlelight, true happiness radiating out of the blue eyes before him.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself,” Shouta called out softly, igniting another round of laughter from the guests. Toshi smiled softly down at him, and Shouta had the good grace to blush.

The ceremony was kept short and sweet. They exchanged rings, gold and blue for Toshi, and a deep black with charcoal edging for Shouta. The younger man sniffled through it, though he would later deny it, saying the smoke from the candles was irritating his eyes. And nothing in heaven or on earth could wipe the happy smile from Toshinori’s face.

The vows were traditional, since neither man could actually write out something so beautiful and heartfelt without completely breaking down into a sobbing mess. When Naomasa reached the ‘In sickness and health’ part, Shouta lightly grazed his fingers over Toshi’s tux, where he knew his scar lay just beneath, before meeting those serious blue eyes with his own.

And as soon as Shouta said “I do” to Naomasa after ‘Till death do us part’, he reached up to gently cup Toshi’s cheek, his ring glinting in the candlelight. The next words were hardly out of the detective’s mouth when Toshi had gripped Shouta around the waist, lifting him up to his level, and pressed their lips together in a kiss that wouldn’t soon be forgotten.

The cheers and applause were nearly deafening, with plenty of happy tears intermingling from the friends standing beside them. When Toshinori pulled away, a small grin on his lips, a high-pitched cheer stood out from the audience and he turned his head, blue eyes meeting emerald, and Midoriya waved. Toshi grinned at the boy, who’s hand was locked tightly into a rather sullen blond’s, and Shouta chuckled at the two of them.

Smiling happily, the two men clasped hands and turned to walk back down the aisle, Shouta’s shoulder bumping into Toshi’s arm, and the blond squeezed his hand just a little more tightly. Shouta gave a small grin and wave to Chiyo, who waved her cane at the happy couple, reaching over to smack Doctor Torino who smiled and waved at her direction.

As they made their way out the door to their reception, Shouta leaned up to whisper in Toshinori’s ear, a smile on his lips.

“Well, you’re stuck with me now, old man, for better or worse.” Toshi huffed out a soft laugh, his cheeks tinted the most beautiful shade of pink, and Shouta couldn’t help kissing him again; Toshi’s lips were warm and pliant against his own. When he pulled away, his voice was deep. “Do you like the idea of living happily ever after with me, Toshinori Yagi?”

And the words Toshi whispered into his ear brought a smile to Shouta’s face.

“Forever? Yes. Please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is it! My poor boys finally got the happy ending they deserve! Thank you so much for sticking with me through this adventure!
> 
> But no worries, I've got plenty more stories about these two!
> 
> Feel free to yell at me on Twitter!
> 
> @WritingWitch 91


End file.
